NGE:  Rebuild of Walking in the Shadow of Dreams
by Gregg Landsman
Summary: The Angels are gone.  Now what?  Twelve years after the end of the First Angel War, and five years after the end of the Second, several people have to find a way to answer that question.  Now matter how much it could hurt them.
1. Chapter 1

Neon Genesis Evangelion and all other properties in this fic are the property of their respective creators and owners. I own none of this – this is purely for practice and fun.

A little idea I was inspired to do by some other works I read and an idea I had running around the back of my head. Not strictly related to my other works.

This is a revision of the earlier version. I'm trying to clean up the language and work the plot a little more.

Enjoy.

* * *

...

* * *

One light bulb blows out with a flash as she flips the switch, and she mutters to herself. Grunting in a decisively unlady-like way, she stumbles in, her feet sore and her shoulders stiff after a long, very very long day. Exhaustion escapes her as she drops her briefcase on the end table by the door, kicking the door shut as she files through her mail.

It is a nicely, fairly big apartment. The rooms are wide and the kitchen is open. The illusion of size is effective, intimidating. Anyone she invites in is impressed by the awesome scale she lives in, even more awesome when they realize _who_ she is.

The blue prints are framed, with a signature by the original designer, and it takes up an entire section of the wall by the couch. Pictures are everywhere. They mark the entrance to the door of her bedroom, on her kitchen counter, by her bedside night table. Everything here is reminding her of her past. But that's the point, as she walks through the past and, as she would have once said, 'strives boldly into the future.'

F_ that.

She opens the fridge, taking out an instant meal, popping it into the microwave. She doesn't even read the directions anymore. She lives off of it, she knows it by heart. Watching, waiting, she takes out the meal when she _knows_ it is ready, poking it with a fork as she kicks off her shoes and stumbles to the couch. Clicking on the remote, she eats, watching a news report.

"…_on the twelve year anniversary of the Battle of Tokyo-3, NERV Supreme Commander-_"

The channel changes as she curses, switching to a fashion show. Then switches to a sitcom. Empty jokes, empty laughs. Damn it, she's a professor. A professor of Theoretical Biology. She should be _happier_ than this. She knows why people are happy, and she could keep telling herself that she has everything she needs to be happy…

Except that she hasn't had a date in three years. Any relationship she's had lasts for days on average, weeks at least. She's never gone to third base, which if anyone who knew her back then knew, would _floor_ them.

Reaching into her suit jacket, she takes out her cell phone. Just a handful of names; all of them belong to professional contacts whom she says maybe a sentence to a day.

Rolling her head back, she closes her eyes and sighs. The mind wanders in these moments, and sometimes goes places it doesn't go normally. Walking to the kitchen, she dumps the rest of her dinner, snatching the phone from the charging stand in a smooth motion and walking to the couch.

Taking her laptop, she brings up her web browser, entering in a name and is rewarded with a phone number.

_Gott, how long has it been,_ she thinks.

Eight years, that rational, annoying part of her brain chimes back.

Hesitating for a moment, she starts dialing. Sure, it's long distance, but she doesn't mind. Doesn't care. He'll be happy, he'll be…

_Do you remember how it ended, last time?_

Her finger hovers over the last button. Of course she remembers. Last time they talked, face to face. Last time before _she_ ran away and _he_ stayed…but time heals all wounds, doesn't it?

Shakily, the last button presses down. Lifting the mobile handset to her ear, her stomach contorts. She blames crappy food more than anything, but doesn't think anything of it as the phone dials and _pick up Gott damn it…_

"_Hello?"_

The voice is the same, but different. A little deeper, more…confident, maybe? Chances are good it's him, isn't it?

_"Hello? Who's calling?"_

"Um…Shinji?"

"_…yes, this is Shinji Ikari speaking. Who's…oh, wait._"

It was him. Okay, that's good. That's step one. So he's there, even if he's stepped away for a moment, and if she can put more than two words together she can make a sentence and talk to him.

Even if the last time they talked she broke his nose.

"_Asuka, what is it?"_

Something catches in her throat. Her number's unlisted, after all. Maybe he recognized her voice? Maybe he remembered her? Maybe he-

"_Where's Mama?"_

"_Asuka, she'll be back soon. Please, I'm talking with someone on the phone. I'll be right over, okay?"_

Then a mumble, then footsteps, hurrying away as he clears his throat.

"_Sorry, kids,_" he sighs, "_Um…who is this?"_

She clicks off the phone. Silently, she sits on the couch, watching the sitcom. Empty jokes, empty laughs. She almost doesn't notice as the tears begin streaming down her face. Ten years, twelve years ago, she would have responded to this by screaming and hurling the phone into the television.

That was when her anger actually accomplished anything. Instead, the phone just drops to the floor, and after a long moment, her shoulders shake, and she holds her face in her hand as she cries.

* * *

**Walking in the Shadow of Dreams (revised):**

**Chapter 1: Meet n' Greet**

**

* * *

**

"Uncle Shinji? Who was that?"

Clicking the buttons on the side of the phone, Shinji Ikari shrugs. The phone number is unlisted, no name given. Sighing, he replaces the phone on the charger, looking down to the three year old, brown-haired girl.

"I…don't know."

The doorbell rings, the girl running off despite his protests and opening it, jumping into her mother's arms.

"Well, you're happy to see me," the young woman commented, as the girl playfully yanks on one of her pigtails, "I hope she hasn't been a hassle."

"She seems eager to get away from me," Shinji jokes, leaning on the counter, running a hand through longish black hair, "It's no problem, though I do question your timing. One would think our former Class Rep wouldn't be tardy."

"One would think our former class introvert wouldn't cause trouble," Hikari Suzuhara responds, "Well, we're going. You have that…thing…tomorrow?"

"God, yes," Shinji sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "He's driving me _insane._"

Shrugging, Hikari nods.

"And you're still happy he's like this, now," she says, "We'll get going. Talk to you later?"

He nods, waving, she smiles as the door closes. Sighing, he looks up, leaning against the wall. He could swear he recognized the voice, but…_nah._ They made it plain to everyone around them that it was _over._ If she never even thought about him again, it would be too soon.

_And yet…_

Shaking his head, he turns, walking to the bathroom of his apartment. The day ahead looms. And he has deeds to do before then.

* * *

...

* * *

_"Go!"_

Clad in blue body armor, black face grill-masks, and white skirts falling to the floor, the two opponents draw their wooden swords and stare each other down. Around them in the gym, the other students of the kendo class watch, having seen this spectacle before. Some watch to learn. Others watch out of morbid fascination.

And as the younger of the two gives off an almost animalistic roar and charges, they realize it will be just as uncomfortable as the other times.

The younger man swings, in a downward chop to his opponent's head, which is easy blocked and returned with a slice towards the ribs. Grunting, the young man blocks, pushing off the swing and shoulder rushing the older man.

The older opponent sweeps out his legs, bringing the sword down in a vertical swing. The younger catches the sword, holding it in place with one hand, as he flips the other sword and drives it into the older man's crotch. The students around the dojo wince, some covering their crotches, as the sensei, an aged man in a loose white gi, sighs.

"This is why I insist on athletic protectors."

The younger man pushes off, rolling and climbing onto his feet.

"_Enough!_"

The two halt, swords going to ready stance. The sensei walks between them, pointing to the door.

"Cool off. Outside," he says, "Enough for today."

They turn to the sensei and bow, stumbling out of the dojo and into the simple, well lit hallway. The younger man leans against the wall, pulling at the straps of his mask. Shinji eases off the face protector, sliding down the wall and resting his sweaty head against the cool tile.

"This is your idea of family counseling?" he asks.

The older man takes off the protector, revealing an aging face with graying brown hair and beard, reaching into a pocket and taking out his tinted glasses.

"You're the one who keeps going for my groin."

"And you keep trying to hit me when I'm down!"

They go silent, for a long moment…and Shinji chuckles.

"I'd like you to work for me," Gendo Ikari says, folding his arms, "For NERV."

"Unit 01 hasn't as much as turned on for twelve years," Shinji responds, "We both know I can't pilot anymore."

He sighs, looking at his father through splayed fingers. Sure, they've both aged. Sure, Shinji is slowly but surely physically becoming him, but right now, as his father stands ramrod straight and _looks_ at him, he sees the old Bastard again.

"But of course, you already know that," he says, "It _is_ your private kingdom."

"This isn't a piloting job," Gendo continues, "I _have_ several pilots, and more than one of them doesn't second guess my actions. Out of the lot of you, I think only Rei and Nagisa didn't talk back to me."

"Rei worshipped the ground you walked on and Kaworu was an Angel sent to _kill us all._ That doesn't _count._"

"I think I liked it more when you were terrified of me."

Muttering swears to himself, Shinji rises with a groan. At twenty six, his body doesn't bounce back like it used to, but at the same time he's sure most twenty six year olds haven't wrangled physical gods. Standing up, he steps forward. The same height as his face, the same facial structure with just a hint of his mother's smoothness, and he narrows his eyes.

"Alright," he says, "I'll work for you. No agenda. No games."

"No plots," Gendo says, raising his hand, "No agendas. No scenarios. I have a position that is well suited for you. It's for…the best."

"You mean it's what she would have wanted."

Gendo nods.

The elder Ikari turns and heads towards the locker room, effectively ending the conversation. And leaning against the wall, he looks up and sighs, wondering what exactly his father had just gotten him into.

* * *

...

* * *

To call Tokyo-3 'odd' would be along the same lines as calling a Tsunami a 'wave.' The Fortress City, rebuilt after the disastrous events at the end of the First Angel War, has a character. A character which attracts a population, going from a hundred thousand at the height of the War to two million in modern times.

Following the utter failure of Instrumentality, small little details were added. NERV, being a scientific as well as military organization, had to improvise and also study as many details as possible. Nothing was thrown away.

It for these reasons that the centerpiece of Tokyo-3(a)- and the home base of NERV following the sacking of the Geofront- was the hollowed out, rebuilt corpse of the Angel Ramiel. The massive blue diamond is set on a frame of supports, the hole that it received its kill-shot through upgraded to a massive search light, with elevators and ramps leading into the structure.

Windows dot the surface, planes and VTOL craft coming in and out, as a single figure moves unattended and unnoticed through the crowds of beige-uniformed individuals.

She would stand out if they paid attention. Blue hair, alabaster skin, and piercing red eyes. Instead, the sight of her has become so mundane that even an albino Nephilem holds little interest, considering the sum and whole of NERV's day to day experience. Elevator doors open, and the twenty six year old albino woman stands stock still as they close.

"Dogma," she says.

* * *

...

* * *

"I can't believe you talked me into this."

"As do I. Considering our history, I thought you would just stop listening to me after some point."

The collar of the beige uniform itches at his neck, and Shinji can't help but glare at his father as they walk down the halls of the top level of the NERV Decahedron. His father is in his uniform; black and red, one glove white, the other, his prosthetic, black. A whir and click comes from his right hand as he flexes his fingers and they enter his office, his second waiting.

The years have been kind to Misato Katsuragi, and there is still the hint of an exuberant smile on her face as she spots Shinji, before she corrects it and clasps her hands behind her.

"Commander," she says.

The office is well lit- _her_ insistence, after all. The windows are unshaded and the desk is a crescent moon constructed from Ramiel's own material.

"Allow me to present our new Special Inspector," Commander Ikari says, "He will be working with the Tactical Operations department as our liaison with the JSSDF. Do you have any questions?"

Not waiting for a reply, Commander Ikari walks to his desk, sitting in his chair and tapping buttons. Holographic displays light up, information and pictures displaying in quick order as he tents his hands underneath his nose.

"Dr. Ibuki has settled in at NERV-3 at MIT," Misato says, "However, without a head of Project E here, we are operating at a disadvantage. Many Type orange readings have been coming from the Pacific, but the MAGI is fuzzy as to whether or not they are Pattern Blues."

"Understood. I have found a candidate to replace Doctor Akagi and sent an offer," Gendo responds, "Inspector."

Shinji stands up straight.

"You will meet with the possible candidate. A VTOL is waiting for you. Coordinate with the Tactical Ops commander on readiness of all Evangelions and take notes for your meeting."

"How many do we have?" Shinji asks.

"Unit 00, Unit 03, 06, 07 and 11 are at sortie ready status. In fact, she should be here right now…"

The doors open. Walking with a grace that is neither natural nor forced, dressed in a darker gray version of the normal female uniform, the blue haired, pale woman takes up a position next to Shinji. She regards him with a cool, steady stare before turning back to the Commander.

"A new head of Project E is chosen?" Rei Ayanami asks.

"Correct," Gendo says.

Beneath his hands, he smiles, faintly. In front of him are possibly the three reasons there is even a human race anymore. Rei, in betraying him, finally learned the value of her own humanity, something he in his negligence never taught him. Her own mind, sharpened to a point, he had to put to use otherwise.

Misato Katsuragi he underestimated at every turn, choosing her both out of pity for his role in her father's death and because he believed she could be easily controlled. He was wrong; her own maternal instincts, her own will, proved to be more than his cold, emotionless scenario could handle. When Kozou retired, he made her his second. If anything, she proved to be far too dangerous to be allowed to roam free.

And then there is Shinji. His son, even if he never referred to him as such. As much him as he is Yui. As dangerous as he could ever be, as willful and powerful as Gendo ever imagined. When they ask him how Third Impact failed, he boiled it down to two sentences;

Shinji became God.

And then he decided it wasn't for him.

"Dismissed."

* * *

...

* * *

"You have been given Mr. Kaji's position. It has been vacant since his departure."

Walking through the halls towards the lift bays, Shinji nods. Next to him, Rei speaks. Unlike others, he managed to not lose track of her, even after everything. Even after he was told _what_ Rei was, he couldn't simply shun her, only help her. Of course, Shinji's own lack of family, especially his relationship with his father, made this all the more important. Some see her as an abomination.

He sees a kindred spirit. Maybe even a sister.

"You will be taking on all of his duties?"

"Only official ones," he says, "No spying. I don't intend to be a triple agent."

"I see."

"I don't intend on sleeping with Misato, either."

She raises an eyebrow, inclining her head at him.

"It would make more sense to involve yourself with Tactical Ops commander," she says, "Katsuragi is, after all, now Sub Commander."

Narrowing an eye, he stares at her.

"Except that the Tactical Ops commander's my half-sister."

She smiles. A small, thin, humorous smile.

"Incest is like a board game. It is fun for the whole family."

In the years he's known her, he can still never tell when she's kidding or not. Some events tend to make him wonder how much she is kidding about this sort of thing. Especially events it takes a few beers to get rid of. She leans in and pecks him on the cheek.

"It is good to see you back here," she says, "I hope it is better than the last time."

Turning on her heel, she walks away. As she clears the corner, he palms his face, groaning. Quickly walking, he heads to the lift, the clear glass box closing as it accelerates towards the top launch bays. Floors clear, eventually taking him through the central, hollowed cavity of Ramiel, where he finally sees it.

Face like a mythological demon, the great horn on its snout. Covered in purple and green armor, eyes dull and yellow. For a moment, he wonders if Evangelion 01 still lives like it did, still watches him. It has been twelve years since he stood inside it. Twelve years since he saved the world.

Every moment he was in it caused pain. A lifetime, he will spend making the wrongs involved in the mere _creation_ of that weapon right. It will work for no one, and maybe not even for him, anymore. Not since he knew the truth, and knew what horrors its creators intended him to unleash.

It is the most painful thing for a child to let go of their mother. It is even more painful to realize your mother is a monster.

Shuddering back the nausea, he puts it back in his mind, forcing the revulsion down as he walks towards the waiting VTOL as the lift doors open.

* * *

...

* * *

Another day leads to another two classes. It can be argued that at least college boys are cute, unlike the ones she had to deal with in middle school and high school. They are all perverts, of course, but the eye candy doesn't hurt. Or man candy, as her perverted former guardian would add in, somewhere between her fourth and fifth beer of the day.

The classroom is a sixty forty split, forty percent male and sixty perfect female. At least twenty five of the fifty students have a crush on her, and seventeen of them are male. She guesses she should be flattered by that, but, doesn't really think about it. She leaves it up to Mari to organize her occasional blind date, which crashes and burns within an hour when she gets bored.

Besides which, she is _busy,_ she tells herself. _Busy busy busy._

The equation is on the board, and she lets them work amongst themselves on how to make it work. She knows, of course. _Mother's_ notes pointed her in the right direction on what she has to do to solve it, even if half of them were garbled and the rest were insane ramblings of a madwoman.

"Professor?"

Derek, that one is named. Little pudgy, but intelligent.

"Yes, Derek?"

The boy two years younger than her stands from his desk in the lecture hall, dressed in a blazer, sweater, and jeans having seen better days.

"Professor, we wanted to ask you about something, but we know your past is a…well, touchy subject."

"Derek," she says, pushing the glasses up her nose, "My past is an 'off-limits' subject. I have explained this time and time again. I am not sure what part of that I am not making clear."

He nods, cheeks flushed. Like a damn _schoolboy,_ half of them are. Sitting down quickly, he gets to the notes and examples, and she fumes, though not showing it. Turning back to the board, she begins writing her version of the proof. She'll get them to understand Super Solenoid theory if it kills them.

* * *

...

* * *

The closest Shinji ever went to leaving the country was when he was onboard an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. He slept during the six hour flight. He read a book, checked his email, and waited, and finally came to a conclusion.

_They didn't tell me who the candidate was._

They didn't. No name, just a location. An offer had been made, forwarded, not accepted yet. And despite the fact that this offer was made maybe a couple of days ago, his father was _insistent_ that Shinji go and personally recruit this person.

Palming his face, he swears. Thankfully, he's the only one here, so no one notices in the private aircraft. Leaning back in his seat, he closes his eyes as the craft lowers to the ground, wondering what game his father is playing this time.

No games, he said. No agendas.

He's not sure what's worse. That his father promised that, or that Shinji _believed_ him.

"Inspector, sir?"

He looks up, finding a Section 2 agent standing over him.

"Ready to go?"

* * *

...

* * *

She's going to kill someone if she hears another thinly veiled question about her past. It's bad enough that she decided to not go under an assumed name. No, no. She was comfortable with her 'celebrity' status, wasn't she. Now it means no matter what class she teaches, she has one or more enterprising students from the school newspaper wanting an interview with the famous professor. 'My professor saved the world!' the headline would read.

F_ing immature idiots. She half wants to give an interview for the sake of telling them the gory, grisly truth about the whole damn affair. She half wants to mess with their heads and see if she can reduce graduate students to tears. Most of them were barely in puberty when the First Angel War ended, and maybe fifteen or sixteen during the three month long Second Angel War. She remembers it. She was there for the First one.

She never really talked about the Second Angel War, never was there for it.

"Damn it," she growls, "Gott Verdamnt. This isn't what you need."

Her office looms. Swinging open the door, she peers over the controlled mess that is her work space. Office hours in an hour, then she goes home. Get herself a little buzzed, maybe do another phone chat.

"Let's start," she sighs, and slumps in her chair.

Emails come first.

* * *

...

* * *

Trading his beige uniform for a suit with a pin marking him as NERV personnel, he is driven to the area. Narrowing his eyes, he sees the archway of the University of Halle-Wittenberg as the car pulls under it, watching old and new architecture of the German University as the car rolls by.

They park in one of the public lots, the bodyguard trailing behind him. Finding a faculty building, in specific the one on the location he was given, he begins ascending steps, walking into the lobby, presenting his ID. Climbing stairs, he follows the numbers until he finds himself in a well lit, balcony hallway on the fourth floor, following room numbers until he is in front of the right one.

Room 404, Faculty Office.

Squinting, as if that would somehow magically allow him to understand German, he sighs and knocks, hard.

No answer. He knocks again.

"_Ja, ja! _I'm coming!"

His hand stops in mid-knock. Stepping back slightly, arm falling to his side, his eyes go wide. He knows that voice. He _knows_ that voice.

"Father, you _son of a bitch._"

The door swings open, Shinji locking eyes with a pair of aqua blue eyes. A still beautiful face, light skin, framed by long red hair now tied in a sensible, loose ponytail. Dressed in a brown dress suit and yellow button shift, red pen in hand and glasses on her nose, she stares at him as well for a long moment.

"Hi," he manages to choke out.

A single, silent moment hangs between them, eight years of baggage seemingly dissolving for a moment. He moves to close the distance, opening his mouth to explain why he is here, what he wants, and why she should listen.

But instead, Shinji Ikari, Special Inspector to NERV, drops to the floor after Professor Asuka Sohryu Langely's fist connects to his jaw, and the door to her office slams shut with a flurry of teutonic swears.

"Perhaps I came at a bad time…?"


	2. Just Like Old Times

The phone rings on the crescent moon desk. Pushing his amber glasses up his nose, Gendo Ikari considers the number displayed on the LCD plate taking up the top half of the phone. He lets it ring, five times, and right before it would switch to his voice mail he takes the receiver up to his ear.

"Yes?"

"_I f_ing hate you._"

"I see."

"_No, I really need to explain it. I need to quantify it. I f_ing hate you, Father. I f_ing hate you so much I can feel it starting all the way from my feet. I swear to God, when I get home I am getting in Unit 01 and I am going to make you beg for death."_

He raises an eyebrow. Tapping his black gloved right hand on the desk, he waits a moment, hearing the sound of a pained groan and something resembling a back of rocks. No, a bag of ice.

"I trust you will be able to complete the assignment, Inspector?"

"_I have an expense account, right?"_

"An unlimited expense account."

A pause on the line. Another pained groan.

"_It better be._"

* * *

Chapter 2: Just Like Old Times

* * *

Upon getting up, his first priority was to go down to the buildings café and get a bag full of ice. The second was to dodge the small throng of students filing in and out of the building and get himself someplace to headquarter, because he was going to be a while. By his reckoning, he had to find a way to approach her, warm up to her, and convince her to come back with him to Tokyo-3.

So a year, maybe two. That is a good estimate, he thinks, for getting things between him and Asuka so he can be in the _same room with her without getting punched._

He exited the campus, had his Section 2 guard drive him to the nearest four star hotel, and put the penthouse suite on his unlimited NERV expense account. Sitting on a brushed leather sofa and picking at a cheese platter that costs more than his monthly utility bill, he closes the phone upon finishing the conversation with his father. The swelling is down and she didn't crack anything, so her techniques a little worse than it used to be.

So.

A list of things to do.

First, find a way to get in the same room with Professor Asuka Langely Sohryu, Professor of Evolutionary/Theoretical Biology without getting killed.

Second, convince her to return with him as head of Project E to Tokyo-3, a place which she swore she would only return to when it was a smoking crater so she could piss on the ashes.

Third, kill his father. Slowly. Make it last a month.

"This is not going to be easy," he says to himself, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Standing up, pacing on the plush, hand woven carpet, he clicks on the 60" television and watches a german news program, clicking on the menu and ordering every on demand and pay per view program just out of spite. After the third badly dubbed action movie, a plan begins to form. A very workable plan.

A plan his father would be proud of.

"God help me," he says, "I'm turning into _him._"

God does not help anyone, his father would respond, Only those who help themselves.

"Good enough," Shinji sighs, and clicks open the phone, "Let's get this together. Katsuragi, please."

* * *

...

* * *

The phone rings once. She spots the name, grins, picks up the phone and brings it up to her ear.

"Hey there," she says, "Where are you? Really? Berlin?"

The smile disappears. Misato Katsuragi, sub commander of NERV-1, narrows her eyes at the tale being related to her and promptly clenches her hand into a balled, white knuckled fist.

"Say _WHAT?"_

In Central Dogma, the three Bridge Bunnies turn in their chairs and Rei inclines her head, looking up the raised platform as Sub Commander Katsuragi begins swearing into the phone at the story related to her by her once ward.

"No!" she screams, "You tell that ginger bitch if she even _touches_ another hair on your head, Unit 00 is going to _touch her!_ She still owes me a _f_ing_ widescreen TV from when she _threw it against my f_ing wall!_"

"Sub Commander."

Misato holds her hand over the receiver, looking up.

"Yeah, Rei?"

"We are in the middle of an operation."

Looking at the main floating screen and the teal and white Unit 07 wrestling with what could best be called a Badgerconda, she mutters a swear and uncovers the phone.

"Right. Busy. Talk with you later."

* * *

...

* * *

"No, no. Mari, I'm _fine._ I'll be there tonight."

Sighing, she listens to the latest concerned tirade, as she refers to it as, from her step sister. Her only _real_ friend, she muses, which is something of another gut blow of how bad she's been doing these past few years, but a good friend nonetheless. Certainly a better sister than she ever gave her credit for.

"I understand, Mari," she sighs, "I really do. Give her a kiss for me and I'll be there after I'm done with classes, okay? Yeah, okay. Thanks."

Opening the door of the lecture hall, she doesn't concern herself with the fact that the lights are on. Closing the phone, she opens her suitcase and takes out her laptop, opening up the file with her lecture notes and staring at the day's subject, which goes closer and closer to veering into her mother's work.

"Boo."

She shrieks, spinning around and on reflex swinging her keychain. The keychain was a gift from her paranoid father, who was the one she inherited the 'teenage boys are perverts and potential rapists' worldview that dominated her public school experience, and as such was equipped appropriately. The attached two inch long canister recognizes the swift motion and sprays pepper directly in the eyes of the offender, and coughing and screaming, he backs away.

Pawing at his eyes, tears streaming down his face, Shinji leans against the classroom's back wall as Asuka glares at him with a gaze that could be called 'murderous' as an act of _charity._

"What is _wrong with you?_" he screams.

"I should ask the same question!" she screams back, "You don't just sneak up on someone in the middle of an empty room!"

She raises an eyebrow, pushing her glasses up as she steps back and takes a look at him. He isn't wearing the same black suit from yesterday, instead...

"Is that an Armani?"

"NERV expense account," he coughs, "Look, can we just not yell at each other for a few minutes?"

"No," she growls, turning to the doors as they open to admit students, "Get to your _seats! __NOW!"_

Brooking no argument, they quickly file in, taking out their notebook computers and sitting with rapt attention. Her hand quickly wraps around his tie and she drags him by it down the stairs and to the raised platform and boards, slamming his butt into the seat and glaring.

"You will stay where I can _see you,_" she says, "And you will _learn something._ Am I _clear?_"

He nods, his voice gone. Dear Lord, he thinks, She has _authority._

_

* * *

_

...

* * *

The door to his office opens, and Gendo Ikari looks up as his second in command and the tactical operations officer both walk in and stand at the front of his desk. He waits, letting them stand at attention, punching up holographic financial statements and looking busy.

"Yes?"

"Commander," Rei says, "It has come to our attention that you have sent Inspector Ikari to Berlin to procure the services of Professor Asuka Langely Sohryu as head of Project E."

"Correct."

"Permission to speak freely?" Katsuragi asks.

"Granted."

Misato slams both hands on the desk and glares across it at the Commander.

"What the Hell is _wrong with you?_" she demands, "Last time Shinji saw Asuka, Asuka put him in a _coma!_ I don't care how smart she is, if you think I'm going to let it all be bygones when she steps off the plane, you have another thing coming!"

"I am aware," he says, pushing his glasses up his nose, "And as sub commander, it will be your responsibility to make the arrangements. Are we clear?"

"I share the Sub Commander's concerns," Rei responds, turning from Misato to him, "Sohryu is not an especially stable personality. Considering her deep seeded mental traumas, it is possible she has not developed a healthy system of interacting with people as I have."

"That's not healthy," Misato mutters, "Rei, I've seen you with people. That's not healthy."

"My system of interacting with people is simple," Rei responds, raising an eyebrow, "I simply, as it is said, 'play up' my odd nature to connect with people. It is, as my roommate said, 'All sorts of sexy wrong.'"

Both stare at her.

"Right," Gendo says, turning back to Misato, "Katsuragi, you will handle the arrangements, if Inspector Ikari convinces her to return to Tokyo-3. Are we clear?"

"Begrudgingly."

"Dismissed."

* * *

...

* * *

If she killed him, he would have died happy. He would be happy only because his death would have been a victory. At some point during the lesson, during the independent work period, one of the students attempted, again, to ask a question about the First Angel War. The question was about one of the Angels. In particular, it was about the Eighth.

She humored him. Wanted to let him get at least mid way through it before she reminded him that questions about her past career are questions she does not entertain.

"The Eighth Angel basically evolved to live in magma," Shinji interrupted, "So the normal methods didn't work. Basically we shoved a coolant pipe into his mouth and let Thermal Expansion take it from there."

The class, as one, turned to him. Someone _answered_ the question, they realized. Someone who _knows things._ Then, to kick it off, he grinned and waved. And he introduced himself.

Fifteen minutes of questions later, she gave the rest as homework and told them there would be exams they would be responsible for. She only glared at him as they filed out, less rage and more surprise in her eyes that he actually managed to be _that ballsey_ in her classroom, despite being in _arms length_ of her.

"Why are you even here?" she asks as they walk through the bustling halls of the building, filing past students mutedly greeting her, "You didn't just come over here from Japanland to undermine my authority, did you?"

"No, Misato would do that," he says, "Rei would come over and just stand on the stage and stare. She's better, but still weird. I'm here for a reason. A NERV reason."

"And that is?"

"I won't tell you unless you can guarantee you won't kill me."

"Don't ask me to make a promise I have no intention of keeping," she growls, beating him by a nose to exit the building into the bustling campus, "Damn it."

She scowls, checking her watch and picking up her pace, Shinji lightly jogging next to her.

"What's the rush?" he asks.

"I missed my bus because you played to the crowd," she says, "Now sod off and do whatever Commander Beardman wants you to do, and leave me _alone._"

Another Germanic swear and she starts peering around, following signs for the local bus stop as she adjusts her bag. He sighs, walks over, places his hand on his shoulder and starts leading her away.

"What are you doing," she seethes.

"Taking my life into my own hands and offering you a ride," he responds, "Also, since my job over here does involve you to an extent; it would be bad form for me to leave you stranded."

He rustles through his pocket, taking out a key chain, and clicks a button. A copper orange sports car flashes its lights, beeping. Two wing doors pop open and rise, the engine starting with a second tap of the button. Steam and exhaust shoot out of the back, the entire thing purring in anticipation. Asuka stares, mouth open, tilting her head as he takes her briefcase and puts it in the almost nonexistent back seat.

"Unlimited expense account," he says, "It's a rental."

* * *

...

* * *

Unit 07 grabbed an axe, a thankfully Eva scaled axe, and cut off one of the Badgerconda's many heads before going to work on the rest. Unit 03 joined in as well, and between the two of them they managed to destroy the Kaiju before it could get into the Tokyo-3 city limits. After the debriefing, as was normal for her, Rei Ayanami, Tactical Commander for NERV-1, exited Dogma and ascended via lift to the Commander's office.

"Good work with the Kaiju," he says as she enters, standing at attention in front of his desk, "You have your concerns about my wishing Sohryu to take over Akagi's duties."

"I believe this is another attempt to follow Dr. Ikari's wishes," she responds.

A small smirk, and he pushes his glasses back up his nose.

"Not holding back, I see," he says, "Very well. Do you wish to consult with our advisor on this matter?"

"You have considered me your confidant before," Rei says, brows raised and staring at him, regarding him in a mix of his own manner and _hers,_ "In the past twelve years, I have remained loyal to you because you have shown your ability to move beyond your obsession, Commander. However, you are aware that I value Inspector Ikari."

"That's as close to understatement as I think I've heard from you, Rei."

"Our relationship is a close one," she responds, "Mainly due to you being, as my room mate refers to you as, 'a shifty bastard.'"

Staring at her, he sighs and turns back to his computer.

"I will forward the details to you on the overall plan soon, as well as your place in it," he intones, "Excuse me, Rei. I have reports to file and more to pass on to Katsuragi."

"Sir," she says, shifts on her heel, and walks out.

* * *

...

* * *

"Not that I care, but what have I missed back in the Pit of Despair?"

Speeding along the highways, the engine purring against road noise, Shinji allows himself a smirk. Originally, he believed that the entire drive home would be her yelling, screaming, and cursing at him. But he also remembers that much of her bluster, much of her abrasive personality is a façade. Like everyone, she wears a mask in public, although hers is thicker than most.

"Well, there've been some changes," he says, "Hikari and Touji got married. They have two kids, so far, and for some reason they have a naming scheme which baffles me."

"Not surprised," Asuka mutters, looking out the window, "So?"

"Yeah, they're naming their kids after us," he says with a smirk, "Their first daughter was named Aya, and their second's named Asuka. I get called to babysit every now and then because I keep shorter hours than they do and I found out I'm pretty good with kids."

He doesn't see her hand tighten around the door handle or the grimace cross over her face. He only continues; a small laugh as he reminisces.

"Well, Misato's been dating someone. One of the bridge crew, the one with glasses. Turned out he had a huge crush on her and after you left and I woke up, they started seeing each other. Um…Dr. Akagi's retired, Dr. Ibuki's moved to the States, and Rei took over Misato's old job, because Misato is now the Sub Commander."

She snorts, mainly at the mention of Rei's name.

"So, have you two been dating?"

"No," he responds, "We're friendly, but we don't date."

"Really? You two were so lovey dovey back when I was there," Asuka mutters, chewing her lip, "Let me guess, tried it, didn't work out? Wondergirl wanted some adventure?"

"Or it's just that I found out Rei's my half-sister," he responds, and smirks when she chokes, turning to him, "Oh, yeah. I did mention that a few times, but you never listened. Although I think if you did, you would have accused me of being so perverted I'd want to have sex with my sister. Ironically, Rei actually started dating before I did, and…well, college was interesting, and I'll say that."

Asuka mutters to herself, folding her arms and leaning back in the seat.

"I really don't _want_ to know."

"Yeah, I'll save Rei's discovery of boys and subsequent week-long absence from classes for another time when I want you to feel uncomfortable," he says with a smirk, "Okay…wow. This is the Sohryu estate?"

He eases the car past the open front gates, into the circular drive path leading to the old style four story mansions on the palatial estates. The car eases in to a spot in front of the wide cement walkway leading from the doors, and he eases it into a stop before turning off the ignition.

"This is my parents' estate," she says, undoing her seat belt, "I _live_ in Berlin."

"So why did I drive you here?" he asks.

She mutters something inaudible, opening the door and stepping out as he climbs out of his seat. Leaning against the car, he watches as the doors open and a pair of legs steps out. It takes him a moment of staring at those legs for him to realize that they are attached to a human body which compliments them nicely.

Dressed in a knee length black skirt and white blouse, hair cut to the shoulder with two prominent bangs and wearing a pair of tortoise shell glasses, the young woman grins and appraises Shinji before turning to Asuka and hugging her.

"Well, it seems you've had an eventful day," she says with a faint English accent, "Introduce me, Asuka."

"Right, right," Asuka sighs, "This is Shinji. For some reason beyond any I can think of, he's in Germany. Shinji, this is my sister, Mari."

"Buh," Shinji responds.

Palming her face, Asuka gives off a muted swear as Mari smirks, extending her hand over the roof which he takes in a quick handshake.

"Shinji…Ikari?" she asks, "As in the Commander's son?"

"Sadly true," he responds with a grin, "He's sent me over here on business."

"So you're working for NERV again," she asks, "Did they re-activate Unit 01?"

"God, no…wait," he says and chuckles, "Maikinami?"

She nods. Asuka rolls her eyes and grabs her bag from the back of the car.

"I took my mother's maiden name," she responds.

"Okay, that makes my job easier," he says, "The Commander's business does involve you. Can we…say…meet about it?"

"How's tomorrow night, Mr. Ikari? I know the city better than you do, and I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement. Does that sound nice?"

"Sounds spectacular," he says with a grin, "Asuka, will you need a ride back?"

"God, _no,_" she growls, and begins walking towards the house, "C'mon, Mari!"

He watches the two go, before slipping back into the car and gunning the engine. With a grin on his face, he drives the car down the circular path and out onto the highway. Naturally, as his sight is normal and not superhuman, he doesn't know about the satellite tracking him the entire time.

* * *

...

* * *

"Well, that's great," Misato says, leaning over Ikari's shoulder as they watch the satellite feed, "She's just going to kill him, then. That's a great idea, Commander."

"She won't," Gendo says, folding his hands in front of his face as the feed cuts out, "Sohryu's deep-seeded psychological issues wouldn't cause her to permanently harm the Inspector. Only temporarily."

"Which is a distinction I place so much importance on," Misato deadpans, walking around the desk and slumping into the chair, "I don't get this. Why Asuka? Why not just order Maya to take over Ritsuko's old job?"

"Two reasons," Gendo says, leaning back in his chair, "First, Sohryu is the daughter of one of the original designers and teaches her material. She knows how the Evas work better than most anyone on the planet. Second, I have a plan."

"Last time you said that the human race ended up as orange juice."

A twitch of his lip and a sigh comes out as he glares at her.

"I remember when I was intimidating," he sighs, "There are reasons I have chosen Professor Sohryu. What matters is convincing her to transfer over. Hence, why I have sent Shinji, in order to work with the connection the two have. This is also the reason I have planned this out in advance. Now, we will proceed to the next stage of the plan."

Misato leans back, groaning. She hates when he goes cryptic.

"Which is?"

* * *

...

* * *

The concourse of the Schoenefeld International Airport is always bustling. In this case, several of the disembarking passengers are all wearing black suits with sunglasses, and all in a loose formation around one disembarking tourist.

It is her vacation, albeit one she is taking on a particular task. Adjusting her jacket and baseball cap, she smiles behind blood red eyes as she walks down the concourse, humming to herself.

Berlin, she hears, is a beautiful city, and she doesn't spend nearly enough time out of Tokyo-3.

Rei Ayanami adjusts the strap of her back carry on bag as a Section 2 agent grabs her suitcases.

This is going to be a fun week.


	3. The Man I used to Be

The doors to the office open as Katsuragi approaches them. Gendo's secretary is a well-trained one and has been here for the past two years, and the girl recognizes when the Sub Commander has the _look_ on her that says she does not want to take an appointment. Marching in, hands balled into fists, she levels her glare at the Supreme Commander of NERV as he closes the cell phone and folds his hands under his nose.

"Yes?" he asks.

"Why is Rei now in Berlin?" she asks.

"She is on vacation."

She chews her lip, narrowing an eye as he calls up financial requisition forms and pauses when he brings up the history of Shinji's expense account. Sighing and shuffling that aside, he continues as she clears her throat.

"Yes?"

"Is Rei going to kill Asuka?"

"Do you want her to?"

Misato considers that for a moment, then renews her glare.

"No," she says, "At least, not…now. Maybe eight years ago."

"I thought you had dibs on that."

She folds her arms and sighs, shoulders slumping as she rubs the bridge of her nose. He turns back to requisition forms, clicking through emails as he does so.

"If that ginger bitch touches Shinji, I handle it personally. Rei gets to watch so she sees how it's done."

Turning on her heel, she starts to walk out.

"Sub Commander," Gendo says, "When Inspector Ikari convinces Sohryu to come to Tokyo-3, you will not bring these problems into NERV."

Knuckles crack as the hands ball into fists and she snorts.

"In all due respect, Commander, she put Shinji in a coma before she ran back home," Misato growls, "Trust me. She'll bring the problems first."

The door slams as she walks out. It shouldn't slam, though. One of the many little quirks of building a base out a dead Angel.

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Man I Used to Be**

* * *

The chalk scrapes along the blackboard as she gives an occasional glance over to her laptop, squinting through her glasses every now and then in order to make sure she is getting the letters right as she prints the chemical formula. She doesn't look as the door opens. It is too early for students, and the footsteps are too heavy, so it can be only him.

"Early riser?" Shinji asks.

"I have to be," she responds, "What do you want?"

"I was thinking a combination of talking and annoying you," he says, grinning as she turns, dressed down into jeans and a sweatshirt as he takes a seat on one of the desks, "I remember talking with your sister on the phone back when we were in Tokyo-3."

She snorts, turning back to the board.

"You're hiding it well," he says.

"Hiding what?"

"The…you know," he says, and sighs, "I almost didn't notice them."

The chalk scrapes along the board. She grinds her teeth, growling out a breath before continuing to write.

"Don't bring it up in class," she says, "Any of it."

Silence in the classroom as she continues writing. He takes out his laptop and begins filing through email messages, rolling his eyes as he reads over a particularly long email from a name he recognizes before chuckling.

"What?" she asks.

"It's an email I got from my stepmother," he says, grinning as she spins around, "You heard, didn't you? My father got remarried."

"You're shitting me."

He shakes his head, typing a reply.

"Rei and I put him on the dating circuit about…six years ago. It was easily the most awkward thing we've done, outside of me walking in on Rei's dates. The camera is not kind to my father."

She shakes her head, turning back to the board.

"How have you been, anyway?" he asks, "I'll admit it's fun being the one egging you on for a change, but I haven't seen you in eight years."

"Stop pretending you give a crap, Third," she mutters, glancing at her lap top.

"And stop acting so high and mighty, Second," he growls, tapping open a file server, "Or I should remind you I had to talk down Misato from dragging you back from Germany and throwing you in a stockade."

The chalk snaps between her thumb and index finger. She stands there, stock still, her back turned to him as he stares. Silently, wordlessly, she walks over to her bag and takes out another piece of chalk.

"Yeah," she sighs, "Look, I have to concentrate on the class right now. So…just don't talk to me. Okay?"

He closes the laptop, stuffing it back into his briefcase. Without another word, he gets up and exits the room.

* * *

...

* * *

Thankfully, the university has a free wi-fi connection and he can do the work he has to do when he isn't abusing his expense account or playing catch up with the woman who cost him a month of his life. He should be infuriated. He should beat her over the head with the past until he makes her cry.

He can't do that, and he can't even tell himself why. What scares him about this is that he may still have feelings for her. He thought she choked out those feelings when she throttled him with his belt eight years ago.

"Is this seat taken?"

"No, it's fine."

He looks up. He recognizes the soft, monotone voice, and turns. Dressed in a pale blue sweater and jeans, with a baseball cap, light jacket and sunglasses, Rei Ayanami brings her hand up and waggles her fingers.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" he growls.

"I am on vacation," she says, sitting down across from him and shutting his laptop, "I expected to find you in Sohryu's classroom."

"Please tell me you haven't interrupted her class."

"I have a week off," she responds, reaching into her jacket pocket and withdrawing a pack of cigarettes, "Making her lose her composure in front of her students is more of a Wednesday activity."

"Rei, please don't make this personal," he says, groaning as she lights a cigarette and puffs at it, "I know you and Asuka don't get along. I honestly don't blame you. But Father sent me over here for a reason, and you getting into a fight with the Professor of Evolutionary Biology over crap from eight years ago is going to make my life difficult."

She takes out the cigarette, puffing out rings of smoke. She smirks, adjusting her sunglasses and turning from him to look out as the open air cafeteria.

"Sohryu can kiss my alabaster ass."

"Serious, Rei. Don't lose it. The past is the past, and we're not kids anymore."

The doors open as the classes are released. Students file by, and it is by virtue of Rei's disguise that no one notices the pale girl sitting next to Shinji, mainly due to the baseball cap hiding her blue hair. She takes out her PDA, tapping open reports and emails as high heels clap against the stone floor, Asuka fixing her glasses as she walks over.

"Sorry about that," she says, "Are you angry?"

"No more than I have to be," he sighs.

Asuka sighs, fixes her bag, and turns to the other person at the table…and then freezes. Rei looks up, snaps off her sunglasses, and smiles. It is not a pleasant smile. It is not a happy smile. It is a smile a predator gets when it corners prey.

"It has been two days and my brother is still conscious," Rei says, "Hello, Sohryu. It is good to see eight years does improve your personality."

* * *

...

* * *

The doors of the Commander's office swing open once more, the fading sunlight casting an orange glow for the split second before the lights flicker on. As always, Gendo Ikari is at his desk, perusing reports and financial request forms and pausing at the expense account used by his son.

"It's late," Misato says, walking to the desk, "Time to go home, Commander."

"I still have a few hours left in me," he says, flipping to an Evangelion maintenance report.

"You said that yesterday and worked through the night," she says, hands on her hips, "So, you forced my hand."

She flips out her cell phone, cycling through the memory and bringing up a number.

"Hello? Mrs. Ikari? Yes, I'm the Commander's office, right now."

A grunt and he closes the projector, removing the memory card and placing it in his pocket.

"In fact, he's just leaving right now," she says, "Mm hm. That's right, he'll be home in about an hour. You're welcome. Bye."

He walks around the desk, glaring at her. If not for the past twelve years, she would be affected by that glare, but considering the current dynamic between them he isn't surprised when she returns the glare with a knowing smirk.

"You are ruthless," he says.

"Yeah, well, you didn't make me sub commander to watch my tits jiggle," she responds, walking around the desk and slumping into the chair, "Now get going. Or I tell her you haven't been watching your diet."

"I have been watching my diet."

"Who do you think she'll believe?" she says with a grin.

Muttering something under his breath, he turns and walks out the office doors.

* * *

...

* * *

A quick retreat out of her second class and Asuka bolts down the halls, out of the classroom building and swiftly walking across the campus, tightening her jacket against both the literal and figurative chill as she walks in hells almost a quarter mile to the office building, slipping into the elevator and jamming the button for the fourth floor. Walking out of the elevator as fast as she can, she unlocks her office door, setting her briefcase on her chair and turning to close the door.

Which is when she locks eyes with the two red eyes of the person standing in the doorway. She trips back, screaming, and almost falls before Rei's hand darts out and grabs Asuka by the front of her sweater.

"Hello, Sohryu," Rei says, "Do you have a minute to spare?"

Rei pulls her back up to her feet, releasing her and clasping her hands behind her with an almost imperciptable smile as Asuka puts her bag on her desk and sits down.

"I guess I do," Asuka sighs, taking out her laptop, "Rei, wish I could say it was…good to see you again but we both know it isn't."

"A common misconception," Rei says, raising an eyebrow, "To say it was good to see each other again implies we have fond memories of our time together. You are, of course, mistaken in believing I find this meeting pleasant."

The cell phone chirps. Sighing, Asuka reaches into her bag, pulling it out and staring before her eyes go wide at recognition of the number. Flipping the phone open, she brings it up to her ear.

"Hey," she says, her voice softening, "No, no. I'm at work, but between classes. Okay…well, maybe tonight. Okay? Mari's going out, so I'll swing by. Okay? Fine."

She closes the phone, dropping it back into the bag as she begins organizing papers.

"Did you need something?' she asks, stacking packets, "I have essays to grade and I have to get going in an hour."

"I understand Inspector Ikari and your…sister…are going on a date."

Taking out a folder from her bag, she opens it and begins flipping through the five page papers within. Opening assignments she put off grading, but they want their marks and her critiques.

"If Mari and the Third want to play around, fine by me," she sighs, "My sister doesn't pry into my non-existent personal life and I don't pry into hers. Anything else you wanted to egg me on about?"

Rei nods.

"I came here to ensure Inspector Ikari's safety," she says, "Needless to say, neither the Commander nor Sub Commander Katsuragi are comfortable leaving you alone with Ikari for any duration of time."

One of the papers rip, slightly. Asuka closes her eyes, gritting her teeth and turning back to the papers.

"Inspector Ikari has forgiven you," Rei says, "But no one else has. No one else will. I will be watching you, Professor Sohryu."

Turning on her heel, she walks out, the door slamming behind her.

* * *

...

* * *

Germany is cold this time of year. That much he's figured out, while waiting in the open air café, sipping black tea and rubbing his hands. He's never owned a down jacket, but it was a simple matter to obtain one. He's nervous. He hasn't been on a date since…two years ago. Which ended when he had the girl met his father.

The restaurant is a nice one. She picked it out. The open air area consists of dozens of tables with white table cloth and candles burning at the center, and sipping club soda, he waits, idly playing with a breadstick.

"Hello, Inspector."

He smiles. He has a good reason to smile.

The sweater and skirt show off her figure with exquisite detail. Her smile is warm, inviting, and flirty at the same time, her gaze sizing him up and liking what she sees. Mari takes the seat across from him, folding her hands and resting her chin on them as he smiles back.

"So," she says, "Before we get to the pleasure, let's get the business out of the way. What does Commander Ikari want?"

He pulls his briefcase onto his lap, taping out a manila envelope and handing it to her.

"He wants you," he says, "You know about the Kaiju attacks in Tokyo-3, right?"

She nods. It's hard not to know about them for someone working in NERV. Following the Second Angel War, the monsters have started showing up. Theories are numerous about why, going from being attracted to Ramiel's corpse to divine punishment for the fact that Commander Ikari remarried.

"Yes, non-AT Field bearing giant monsters," she says, opening the envelope and looking at the paper inside, "All Code Oranges, so the Evas have a relatively easy time disposing of them."

"Well, Berlin doesn't get any and Tokyo-3 gets a lot. The Commander thinks it would be a good idea to have three formally experienced pilots. So far he has Rei, Touji, and now he wants you. So as soon as it can be arranged, you and Eva unit 05 will transfer to Tokyo-3."

She nods, adjusting her glasses.

"Well, that's out of the way," she says, "So…tell me about yourself. I daresay my sister did not talk a lot about Tokyo-3 when she came home."

A cough, and they both turn to find the suit clad waiter waiting for them. He reaches into his inner jacket pocket, taking out a silver and white NERV card and holding it up.

"We'll have two of the most expensive items on your menu," he says.

The waiter nods, collecting the menus and walking back towards the kitchen. Turning back to her with a smile, he folds his hands on the table.

"So…where to begin…"

* * *

...

* * *

She dumps the remains of the two meals in the sink, switching on the food processor as it chokes down the broccoli. The apartment is silent, and it _is_ late for her, and she takes her briefcase and a can of beer and walks to the living room, plopping down on the couch. She managed to make it through most of the early essays before she had to rush back home to pick up, but now she can finish it.

Popping open the beer, she opens the folder, scribbling comments on the last three papers before taking out a larger folder of case studies.

This will take a while, she muses while sipping the beverage, And, of course, there's everything else. She tries not to see everything as a burden, because that makes her fall into the same trap as her mother.

That spiteful bitch that she was.

Of course everyone compares her to the great and insane Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu. She'll be damned if she ends up like her, though.

A knock and she looks up. She thought she heard a knock from the right hand door down the hallway, but she waits and hears nothing. Nodding to herself, she turns back to the papers, clicking on the television and setting it to a low volume LEVEL, background noise while she toils.

Hard to concentrate. Thinking about the Third and her sister, what they're doing right now. Good for him, he gets to go out on a date with her gun ho axe crazy half sister while she finishes doing real work, not like Mari does anything other than sit in on synch tests and make sure that gaudy overcompensation device doesn't go apeshit.

Bites her lip, concentrating on the case study and failing miserably. What are they _doing,_ she asks herself. She doesn't trust either of them. Most likely, she muses, he's pulling her sister in the alleyway and doing all sorts of perverted…

No, no. Most likely Mari is trying to get him nice and drunk, luring him into an alleyway to do whatever she wants to him. Just like she always does, adding stimulation upon stimulation. Using her status as a Pilot to do whatever she wants and no matter how many times Asuka walks in on her and whatever male friend she has that week, she keeps doing it.

And now…

Now, she's going to do that with _him,_ and she can't honestly say why it bothers her.

"No, I can say honestly why," she sighs, "I just don't like admitting it. But it's his problem if he wants to boldly go where every man has gone before."

Taking another sip of her beer, she stares at the case study, marking spelling errors as she does so. The problem is, Rei was right. Shinji forgave her for what she did. The reason she wasn't dragged back to NERV-1 and thrown in prison was because he refused to press charges and calmed Misato down. He forgave her, but no one else has.

Not even herself.

* * *

...

* * *

"The problem is, Asuka used to wear her emotions on her sleeve. She doesn't that much, anymore. She's always been focused, but now it's like tunnel vision. Her job, everything else, and as much as I try to set her up on blind dates, they fall through."

Walking through the night time streets of Berlin, hands in their pockets against the cold, Mari sighs, staring at the clear night sky with a wistful smile.

"I think it's been…yes, about a year since she even considered dating," she says, "Understandable. There's her work, there's everything else we try to help her with, but still…"

He nods. Sighing, he looks up, smiling.

"It's a nice city," he says, "Tokyo-3's come along, but a lot of it is still too…new. Our guardian filled me in on a lot of Asuka's past after the Impact, and…well, you and her get along?"

"I'd say with confidence I'm Asuka's only real friend," she says, glancing at him, "At least on this continent. She burned a lot of bridges when she left, so I guess she could rebuild from the ground up."

"And your parents?"

"Our father likes having her around," Mari sighs, "After Asuka's mother…went, he took her in. Asuka doesn't like my mother that much, but as I got older I realized I didn't, either. So, when it comes down to it, it tends to be me, Papa, and Asuka. Did NERV update you on everything else that's gone on?"

"With Asuka? I didn't even know she was a professor," he responds, and shrugs, "Honestly, the Commander didn't send me out here with anything other than a location and a couple of job offers. I get the feeling he's playing puppet master again."

She smirks, swaying back and forth on her heels.

"What else is there?" he asks.

"Not my place," she says with a smile, "You'll find out, eventually. This is my apartment, by the way."

He looks up, seeing the five story apartment building, looking around and finding that somehow, they wandered into one of the middle class areas of downtown Berlin.

"I thought you lived at…"

"We use the Sohryu estate for family get together," she says, waving it off, "And official business. I have enough of an active social life to not want to be constantly under my parents' scrutiny, and Asuka has a job far enough away from their estate as her excuse."

She rolls her shoulders, yawning and smiling at him.

"So, this is my stop," she says, "Would you like to come up for some coffee?"

He shakes his head, grinning.

"Sorry," he says, "Being from Japan, my coffee comes in the canned variety. Otherwise I tend to end up with tea."

"Okay," she says, and shrugs, "Then would you like to come up for sex?"

He chokes. Composing himself with speed belaying the request, her turns back to her with his mouth agape.

"Well, thought I'd give that a fair shot," she says, folding her arms underneath her bosom, "I figure, since we're both pilots…well, you being a former pilot, I'd might as well offer. So, want to?"

"I…think I should head home," he says, scratching his head, "Sorry. Can we talk tomorrow?"

She nods.

"Worth a try," she says, and leans in to peck him on the cheek, "I'll call about arrangements. Papa handles the logistics at NERV-Germany, so…"

She turns on her heel and skips into the apartment building. Watching her go for a moment, he shakes his head, turning and walking down the streets back to his hotel. This is going to merit a phone call to Misato. That much is certain.

* * *

...

* * *

He arrived early to assure her that he didn't do anything with her sister. Not that he wouldn't have minded it, but his idea of that special first time doesn't involve his former room mate's half sister on a first date, especially since she seemed rather nonchalant about the whole thing.

Which makes it all the more frustrating when he opens the door to the lecture hall and finds it empty. Closing the door, he notices the note pinned on, and squinting he realizes that just squinting at a note in German doesn't mean he can read German.

"The note says that Professor Sohryu has cancelled classes today due to a personal emergency. She will be back tomorrow."

Clenching his eyes shut, he turns and glares at Rei.

"How many times have I asked you to not sneak up on me like that?"

The albino smiles.

"How many times have I ignored that request?" she asks back.

"I didn't know you knew German."

"You never asked."

He sighs, thrusting his hands in his pockets and staring at her.

"Yeah, well, you don't answer a few questions that I ask, Rei."

"You are, of course, referring to that week in my sophomore year," responds, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah."

"In which I spent a week with a mutual friend of ours, whose name I have yet to disclose, losing my virginity. You are curious out of concern for your little sister, as well as the fact that you walked in on us once and could not get a clear look at his face, as I was holding a pillow over him to stimulate auto erotic asphyxia-"

"Yeah, that's enough," he groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose, and grunts as the cell phone rings.

Squinting at the number, he sighs and opens it.

"Yes?"

"_Gott. Thought I'd never reach anyone."_

"Asuka?"

Her voice is shaky. There's worry in her ton, and a pause on the end of the line. He can hear movement, shuffling, slamming of cabinet doors and a refrigerator.

"Is everything al-"

"_Look, I'm going to send you my apartment address. I need you to pick some things up at the store at my street corner. They have everything ready and…just hurry, okay? I can't leave my apartment."_

The phone clicks off. He stares at the number, screwing his brow in confusion. It seems familiar, somehow, but he can focus on that later.

"What does Sohryu need?"

"Asuka need me to stop by a store near her apartment and pick something up," he says, "She sounded worried."

He closes the phone, putting it in his jacket pocket as he begins walking. She follows him, matching his pace with quiet ease. Checking the message on his phone, he clicks the alarm off on his car and sprints to it, climbing into the driver's seat, fastening his seatbelt, and looking to his right to find Rei already in the passenger's seat.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Sohryu is considered unstable. I am here to protect my brother in case she tries to harm you again."

He rolls his eyes, tapping the LCD display on the dashboard and clicking on the GPS.

"She isn't like that."

"Prove it."

And gunning the engine, the car squeals out of the parking lot.

* * *

...

* * *

The plastic bag contained prescription medicine for strep throat, baby aspirin, sleep aids and some sort of prescription medicine which Shinji didn't recognize but Rei did. 'Acceptance medicines' was what she referred to them as. Taking stairs two at a time, he runs up the stairwell to the third floor, dashing down the hallway and skidding to a stop at the apartment labeled 318.

Pounding his fist on the door, he paces until the bolt unlocks and the door swings open. Asuka looks none the worse for wear. In fact, she looks absolutely healthy. The only difference between how she looks at the moment and his previous encounters with her are her hair being a little frayed and her wearing a pink night gown and fuzzy bathrobe. Without a word, she takes the bag, opening it and staring.

"…thank you," she says, "I have to get to work."

"Those aren't for you," he says, "What's wrong?"

"I can't explain right now," says, looking from side to side down the hallway, "If…look, I really don't have time. Sorry."

She shuts the door, or at least tries to before a pale hand stops it in mid swings. Rei smiles, a knowing, piercing grin as she looks over Shinji's shoulder.

"Hello, Sohryu," she says, "I am curious as to why you require prescriptions ordered by the Director of NERV-Germany. I had expected many things over the last eight years, but prescription addiction was not one of them."

Blue eyes narrow, hands balling into fists. Shinji steps aside, knowing full well what is to come next. Words exchanged, then fists flying, and he'll have to break up a fight between the two girls and probably get pummeled in the process.

So it is with no small amount of surprise that he watches Asuka turn and walk, past her kitchen and down the hallway of the apartment, disappearing into the door on the right. He stands in the doorway, bringing up an arm to keep Rei from entering as she stares into the apartment.

"Interesting," she says.

"Yeah," he says, "This is weird. Do you hear anything?"

"Yes," she says, narrowing her eyes, "Yes, I do. Does the expression 'Liebchen' sound familiar?"

The door opens again. Biting her lip, she walks out, standing in the living room in front of them with her arms folded.

"I appreciate what you did," she says, "But I need to ask you to leave."

"Not until we get some answers," he responds, stepping into the apartment, "Well…first off, I'm not sure if you heard anything, but nothing happened between me and your sister."

"First time for everything," Asuka sighs, running a hand through her hair, "I…I appreciate what you did, and…this was sudden."

"What was sudden?" he asks, not noticing Rei as her gaze turns to the direction of the other room, "Asuka, what the Hell is going on here?"

Rei steps in. Her eyes narrow, her ears perking up. The palm of her left hand begins to twitch.

"Don't raise your voice," Asuka says, barely above a whisper, "Look…it's complicated, and I guess you have never been told because I don't just publish these things on a website. But I really have to take care of something so, please…"

She doesn't hear the door open. She does, however, hear the shuffling of the pajamas and the dragging of the doll's feet, and the small, high pitched cough.

"Mama?"

Her body freezes up. She turns, as does Shinji and Rei, to the voice. The five year old girl in flower print red pajamas and holding the worn Raggedy Ann doll coughs again, padding along the floor to Asuka and pulling on her sleeve.

"I'm thirsty," she says.

Asuka nods, bending down and picking her up, one arm under her seat as she walks into the kitchen and reaches into her fridge, taking out a small purple bottle and handing it to her. She walks out of the kitchen as the girl sips on the drink, turning to them as Shinji's jaw drops and Rei tilts her head.

"Well, cat's out of the bag," Asuka sighs, "Shinji, Rei. I would like to introduce you to Ariel Zeppelin Sohryu."

The little girl waves, smiling.

"My daughter."


	4. Kiddy Stuff

The Kaiju resembles a snowflake, or what a snowflake would be if a snowflake were made out of mushrooms and knives. The silver bulk of Evangelion 09, it's long face curved downward and outwardly resembling the sarcophagus of an Egyptian pharoah with a set of two horns sloping back from its head, approaches with the eva-scale grenade launcher.

Chidori Watanabe, 1-year veteran of the Evangelion program, fifteen years old and cousin of Captain Suzuhara, sighs. The Entry Plug feels warm for some reason and the rebuilt and repurposed MP Evangelion obeys her commands without fail, and one of her two pigtails bobs in the LCL as the plug shakes with every step. There is no conceivable reason this should be _boring._

Still, her mind isn't as knife-edged focused as it should be. No, no. It's…distracted for some reason. She's distracted, for some reason. Well, there are the rumors among the Pilot Corps. Pilot Ikari came back, they say. The pilot of Shogoki, the great and mighty Unit 01, has returned to NERV at Commander Ikari's insistence.

"_Chidori, keep focused. It's distracted."_

"Yes, Subcommander," she says, aiming the grenade launcher, "Unit 09, engaging the Kaiju."

* * *

**Chapter 4: Kiddy Stuff**

**

* * *

**

Rei excused herself. She looked…flustered. Disturbed by Ariel, for some reason. Shinji decided to stay, even if he wasn't sure if he was welcome or not, and sat on the couch while Asuka tucked the girl back in. Strep throat was the diagnosis, as well as something else which Asuka didn't elaborate on. Sitting on the nice, plush couch and staring at the flatscreen tv, he idly takes out his phone and stares at messages.

The door to the second bedroom opens. Slippers on her feet, Asuka walks out, arms folded as she stares at him.

"I am presuming that your father did _not_ tell you about her?"

"You would presume correctly," he sighs, "I will give him an earful about this and abuse my expense account more, rest assured of that."

She nods. Sighing, she walks across the living room and sits next to him, folding her hands in her lap.

"I do not advertise her," she says, "Outside of my father, my stepmother, and Mari, very few people know about Ari. She isn't in a school yet, and she generally gets home schooled at my parents' estate, so she does know some kids her age. Not many, though."

"What about your co-workers?"

"No," she sighs, "Ari came down with strep last night, and I appreciate the help. But, I'm not really good for conversation now, okay? Just…promise me something."

"Okay."

"Don't tell anyone," she says, "Not Misato. Not Hikari or the st…or your friends. Please."

He reaches out, patting her hand. He nods, a small smile on his face. For his efforts, he sees her wince before forcing a tired smile on her own lips.

"I promise," he says, "I…should go, then."

She nods. Leaning back on the couch, she watches him go, exiting through the door and footsteps echoing down the hallway.

* * *

...

* * *

Captain Suzuhara is a man of less than infinite patience and grace. Since the aborted Third Impact and the re-organization of NERV, he has made it a point to prove that it is in fact possible to be an Eva pilot and functional human being at the same time. Many of his tactics have become common practice, and some even legendary.

Getting the Commander drunk, for instance, had the effect of both humanizing the Bastard King, and it was no secret that Touji helped plan the Commander's wedding. When asked why he has done so much for a man who cost him an arm and a leg, his usual response was to then put his hydraulically powered prosthetic arm through a wall.

"So," he says, arms folded and leaning on his desk, "May I ask _why_ you were so distracted when you were supposed to be concentrating on the Kaiju?"

Sitting in the chair in front of him, downcast as only a teenage girl could be, Chidori sighs.

"Sorry," she says, "I heard a rumor from the other pilots, and it's been on my mind lately."

He narrows his eyes, grunting, giving her the sign to continue.

"Is it true Pilot Ikari is working for NERV, again?"

Touji palms his face. He should have known that would be the question. Sadly, he isn't surprised by it, though. His cousin has always been something of a historian or Angel War junkie but never had the chance to really talk with anyone about the First Angel War, mainly due to the three central participants being absent, retired, or Rei.

"Yeah," Touji sighs, "He is. But not as a pilot. Unit 01's still a 200' tall paperweight, Chidori, and what have I said about bothering my buddy?"

Chidori sighs, nodding.

"Where is is he?"

"Germany," Touji sighs, rolling his eyes when Chidori's face lights up, "Yeah, I know. Don't get your hopes up with him bringing the Demon home. I'm pretty sure that entire thing ain't ending well…"

* * *

...

* * *

Red eyes open and the smile creeps along the upturned lips. Drawing the covers up to her chest, Rei Ayanami lets off a long, steady moan as she sits up, the smile disappearing as she looks around her hotel room and finds it empty. Well, that makes sense. They ran into each other purely by accident and things ran from there. Probably left because they both agreed their friends and loved ones finding out about them wouldn't be a good idea.

Extending a hand and twiddling her fingers, her bathrobe rises out of her suitcase and floats over to her, Rei pulling it out of the air and wrapping it around herself.

Well, that was a nice distraction.

Now to get back to f_ing with Sohryu.

* * *

...

* * *

The phone chimes as he sits down at the desk, the lights finishing their flickering on as he powers up his laptop. Narrowing his eyes at the number on the display, he flips open the phone and brings it up to his ear.

"Isn't it late where you are?" he asks.

His eyes snap open when he hears the answer.

"What?" he asks, "Where? _When?_"

The door to the lecture hall opens as Asuka walks in, walking to the podium and placing her bag to the side, popping open her lap top and writing on the board.

"Are you _insane?"_

Asuka stops, turning over to Shinji and pursing her lips.

"No," he says, standing up, "No, Mom, I don't think this is a good idea! When does she get here? Okay, now, the problem is, I should have been told that when she got on the plane! Yes, you could have woken me up for it! Okay, bye!"

He packs up his laptop and shoves it into his bag, tossing it onto his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"Everything," he responds, "Misato just decided now was going to be a good time for a vacation and hopped on a plane to Germany last night. I'm going to the airport to convince her to go home."

Hopping the steps two by two, he exits the classroom, sprinting down the hall and out the building doors, into the parking lot and into the waiting car.

* * *

...

* * *

The doors to the office of the Commander of NERV open, the lit floors playing with the lit ceiling as the secretary to the Commander apologizes profusely before ducking back into the hallway. Looking up from a holographic finances report, Gendo Ikari looks up, blinks, and folds his hands in front of his face. For all the good that will do him.

"Hello, Gendo. Why did you suggest that Misato go and take her vacation now?"

The woman purses her lips, narrowing green eyes and waiting for a response. It is very rare that the second wife of the Commander is at NERV, and the reasons for her coming to the Diamond, as it is referred to by the staff, is either to join her husband for some occasion or to correct some behavior of her husband.

Especially any behavior regarding her daughter.

"She was concerned about Shinji," he responds, pushing his glasses up his nose, "Due to the history between him and Professor Sohryu, she wanted to be there to, and I quote, 'pick up the pieces.' I suggested the vacation as a way to clear the air between her and Sohryu."

A sigh as she rubs the bridge of her nose. Everything he thinks about relates to his work. Just like her first husband, but that's probably why they connected like they did, after all.

"I hope this doesn't blow up," she sighs, "And I hope Shinji is still up for playing peacemaker between the three of them."

"Rei carries a grudge, but I have arranged for distractions. Misato will be too busy with the change in Sohryu's status to cause trouble. The wild card in this scenario is Shinji. How he will carry out his duties will affect the total outcome."

Placing her hands on the desk, Keiko Katsuragi-Ikari purses her lips and levels her gaze with her husband.

"Exactly _what_ is my daughter walking into?"

* * *

...

* * *

It's easy enough to find her. He just follows the sounds of angry squawking, which of course means she brought her life long companion with her. The cat carrier in her hand is rocking back and forth, screaming shrieking outrage. It sounds like whatever is in there is being tortured, so other passengers are giving her a wide berth, but he knows.

He knows the creature inside.

"Hi, Pen Pen," Shinji sighs.

The squawking ceases. The food giver has returned. All is right with the world.

Her normal uniform exchanged for a black dress and her bomber jacket, Misato Katsuragi's face splits in an ear to ear grin before she grabs Shinji by the chin and starts turning his face side to side.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Checking for marks."

"You're worse than Rei."

She turns him back to face her.

"Take that back," she scowls, "Never mind. You would've told me if something's gone wrong, anyway. I was going to surprise you at your suite, but Mom let the cat out of the bag."

"_WARK!"_

"Quiet, you," Misato snaps, "Where's the girls?"

"Asuka's teaching her courses and I haven't seen Rei since last night," he responds, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Misato, I think Pen Pen doesn't like traveling like this."

"Then he can pay for his own seat. What've I missed?"

Palming his face, she doesn't wait for a response before walking past him, shaking the cat carrier to make a point to the captive warm water penguin. Catching up to her, he snatches the carrier out of her hand, glowering at her as they walk out of the concourse and to the baggage claim area.

"This is not the best time, Misato," he says, "It's bad enough that Rei's here, but you being here isn't helping my job."

"Your job's supposed to be offering Little Miss Anger Management Ritz's old position," she responds, "You could've done that two days ago, have her blow up in your face, and go home. I haven't heard from you in a day, so I took a week off and made sure she didn't have you tied up somewhere."

"It honestly isn't like that."

Snatching her suitcase from the conveyor belt, she purses her lips as she fixes him in place with her gaze.

"Your first day here, she decked you," she says, "That ginger bitch can stay here for all I'm concerned, but I'm not letting you get sucked back into this again. So either tell me what is really going on, _really,_ or I march into her classroom and I go to town."

"Misato…"

"You are my _little brother,"_ she responds, poking him in the chest, "I have been by your side for the past twelve years and I raised you like my son for four of them. When she hurt you, I wanted to take her out and have her _shot._ I need to know what's going on here, Shinji, and I need to know now!"

He nods. Sighing, he nods, even Pen Pen's squarking having gone silent.

"Okay," he says, "But I can't tell you. She has to. Something's happened, and she swore me to secrecy. But…she's changed, Misato. You have to trust me on that. I need at least one of you in my corner for this."

Nodding, she squeezes his shoulder.

"Alright," she says, "See if she can meet us somewhere or something. Let's get our family reunion on."

* * *

...

* * *

A children's show is playing on the television and she is sitting on the floor of the living room. The girl is practically a mirror of herself at that age. Except, she smiles more. She stopped really smiling around that age. Probably because that was the age she was when she walked in on Mama.

"God," she whispers to herself, closed phone in her hand, "Past just doesn't die around here, does it."

No, of course not. When she burned her bridges, she did it is such a spectacular fashion that they couldn't help but come back and bite her on the ass.

Staring across from the kitchen to her daughter, Asuka bites her lip, clenching her eyes shut. She wanted to leave it all behind. She wanted a clean start. Once again, though, fate has come and kicked that out from under her.

Still, that doesn't matter.

None of it matters.

The only thing that matters is sitting in her living room and watching tv. But maybe, just maybe, there is a way out of this.

* * *

...

* * *

The deal was to meet for lunch at an open air café near her apartment building. It was her idea, to. When he told her that not only had Misato come, but brought Pen Pen with her, she insisted that they bring the bird.

A text message on his phone last night told him Rei was on her way back to Tokyo-3. He doesn't _like_ this. Rei was more hostile than she should have been to Asuka, and not knowing why only worries him more.

Pen Pen is sitting on his lap. The years have been unnaturally kind to their resident flightless bird, as he he hasn't aged a bit in the past dozen years. Wolfing down another anchovy, the bird relaxes on Shinji's lap, stretching his neck from side to side as Misato impatiently taps a breadstick on her water glass.

"Okay," she says, "You did talk with Makinami, right?"

"Yes," he responds, "She knows about the transfer. There's a lot my father didn't tell us about how things have changed. He never told me I was approaching Asuka."

"Yeah, the Commander just runs things like that," Misato sighs, "So, why can't you tell me what's happened over here?"

"She asked me."

"_Wark?"_

Pen Pen tilts his head, seeing familiar movement. Shinji follows his gaze, seeing the shock of red in the crowd. Sighing, he shakes his head, Misato turning from Shinji to the approaching guest…

And stands up. The chair crashes to the ground and Misato's jaw drops.

Asuka approaches. For one thing, she is dressed conservatively, in a turtleneck sweater and ankle length skirt, a heavy overcoat over that and her purse in her hand.

In her other hand, she holds the hand of the girl in the pink down coat with the ear to ear smile on her face. Any retort, any blame that Misato had planned dies on her lips as she sees the girl, her head tilting as the brain has trouble computing.

"Well," Asuka says, "This has been an interesting week. Ariel, this is Misato. She was a friend of mine when I was younger."

The girl smiles and waves.

"I'm Ariel," she says, "Nice to meet you."

Reaching over, Shinji pulls the chair back up for Misato to it in. Smiling at the girl, she smiles back before Asuka sits down and pulls her into her lap.

"Well, okay," Misato says, "I think we have some catching up to do."

"Sounds good to me," Shinji says, bouncing Pen Pen on his knee and making the bird wark. The girl giggles, and the penguin tilts his head, glancing between the two red heads before making a questioning wark.

"Well," Asuka sighs, patting her daughter's hand, "It's a long story. Let's sum it up that I pulled myself together a few years ago, okay? It's bad enough that Rei holds a grudge, but I don't want to have to deal with both of you."

Misato nods, sighing.

"Deal."

* * *

...

* * *

The secretary for Commander Ikari is an odd girl. In her twenties, she has a certain familiarity about herself that nonetheless strikes Captain Suzuhara as being...odd. It is like he knows her from somewhere, like he has seen that face before. Then again, he's seen a lot of women like Commander Ikari's secretary, but never really bothered to think about it.

Although, one would think the Commander, who certainly never used an administrative assistant during the pre-Third Impact days, would have someone who's less of a flake taking care of the day to day stuff. Maybe he just likes the eye candy.

The woman at the desk has short, messy hair, colored black but he knows it isn't the natural color, and her tan seems...artificial, and if you look at the eyes just right, you can tell her brown eyes are contacts.

Like her eyes are supposed to be red.

Nah.

Maybe he has a crush on Ayanami. Who knows. Anyway, not something he has to focus on.

"Yeeee~es?" the secretary, a Ms. Kiko Hoshi asks.

"Is the Commander in?"

"Actually, the Commander had an emergency. He's going to be back in...about three days."

"Three days."

"Yep."

"The Commander, who normally works long enough hours that people believe he is a _vampire,_ is going to be out of his office for three days."

"Yep."

He taps his foot. Ayanami hasn't come back yet. Katsuragi's in Germany. The Commander is now gone.

"Miss Hoshi," Touji says, "Who exactly is in _charge_ of NERV?"

She taps her display, a holographic flow chart appearing of varied faces going down a list in order, oddly enough in the pattern of a Sephirotic Tree.

"Um...that would be _you,_ Captain Suzuhara."

Which is exactly when the Kaiju alarms start blaring. Palming his face, he swears to himself, before running down the hallway to the lift.

* * *

...

* * *

"I can't believe you haven't even made the job offer to her, yet."

The suite has a balcony, overlooking Berlin, Shinji tries to avoid looking directly into Misato's gaze. It doesn't help that she has Pen Pen in her lap or is using the Tone, her counterpart to the Look. No, she just needs to say it and he knows he's screwed up.

"I was planning on doing that the first day," he says, "Then she punched me."

"Which sort of takes away points she's won in my scorecard."

"Which is when I _realized_ that, if we were going to do this, I was going to do this slowly," he sighs, "So yes, I've been here four days and I have yet to make Asuka the job offer for heading Project E."

He sighs, checking his watch.

"This doesn't make sense," he says, "From your reaction, I'm guessing that you didn't know she had a daughter. And you're second in command of NERV."

"If anyone knows, it's your father," Misato sighs, "It's a shock for two reasons. First, because we honestly didn't keep track of her since she left, and second, because...well, everything in Asuka's psychological profile said she hated kids and the possibility of having kids."

His hands curl around the railing, his gaze wandering over Berlin.

"I guess that's why I assumed she hadn't changed," she says, "That and her decking you, to. I think we should take turns yelling at your father when we get back."

"I have first dibs. He sent me over here without telling me it was Asuka."

"And would you have gone if you knew?"

He sighs. Long, dramatic.

"Yeah."

"Guess the Commander knows you better than you thought," she says, and pats him on the shoulder, "See you tomorrow, kid. We're heading out."

The balcony door opens, followed soon after by the suite door itself. And Shinji simply stares, for a while longer, over the city. Which is around when that single, roiling thought finally comes to the surface.

"Who's the father?"

* * *

...

* * *

The VTOL craft hovers, staying aloft for a moment before setting down on the pink ice sheet. In the aftermath of Third Impact, when they managed to communicate with orbiting surveillance satellites they found something remarkable. Something massive. Something thought long gone.

Antarctica.

The seventh continent had returned following the sundering of the world. Almost immediately, teams were dispatched to uncover its secrets. Out of the total of 1500 humans sent to the bottom of the world, one returned. She was gibbering and mad and screaming about the things crawling under the ice. Nothing could be found by any orbiting system scanning the now pink continent, stained lightly with the color of blood just as the seas had.

For all they could tell, it was the same phenomenon. The oceans had been stained red following Instrumentality. Nothing itself had changed about the oceans save for the color. The water still teemed with life and the oceans had returned to normal along with the seasons and axis of the Earth, but the color had remained blood red.

It didn't even stain, and a simple filtering procedure removes the color.

All it was is a reminder of how close they had come.

Antarctica was lifeless, however.

If the world was truly recovering from Second Impact, then the new Antarctica was the scab, kept guarded by a fully staffed NERV base complete with Evangelion Unit 12, a massive white armored figure, still in the full regalia of its original MP Eva form save for the jet strips on its shoulders.

Stepping out of the VTOL, Gendo Ikari regards the frozen mass as he begins walking towards the dome of NERV-Antarctica.

He knows what is under the ice, of course.

But no one has a desire for a third Angel War.

* * *

...

* * *

The long and short of the problem is that everyone, to some extent, suffers from the Hedgehog's Dilemma. The closer we get to people, the more that they can hurt us, but at the same time if we protect ourselves by driving them away, we hurt them. The only point in human history this was not a problem for the peace and well being of the human race was the indeterminate time twelve years ago when there was no human race.

He has long ago dealt with his issues. The catharsis he received during Instrumentality in addition to all the other experiences has allowed him to move past what plagued him in the past. He keeps this in mind as he sits in the lecture hall, taking notes half out of professional observation and half out of his own musings as Asuka leads the lesson, walking them through how they got past the growth limit for the Evas.

He doesn't follow. He's never been scientific, not like his parents. In fact, he's always prided himself on having creativity rather than smarts. During college he majored in art and music, eventually joining the campus orchestra on the Cello. He toured for a year following graduation, then came back and started working at the local day care centers doing music therapy.

Then came this.

"Class's over, Third."

He looks up, closing the laptop as she continues erasing the whiteboard. Sighing, he packs his things up, slinging the bag over his shoulder. Standing by the desk, waiting, he watches as she finishes her cleanup, packing up her papers into her briefcase.

"What?" she asks, not directly looking at him.

"What?"

"What? You look like you want to ask me something," she responds, flipping open her phone and tapping on the built in calendar, "Ask it."

He sighs. There's no way this will end well, but, might as well ask it. He's long ago learned that dancing around a subject with Asuka never works.

"Who's Ariel's father?"

She pauses momentarily in her packing, and continues as if she did not hear him.

"Asuka-"

"Not a subject you can broach with me, Third," she says, pulling the strap of the briefcase over her shoulder, "Gotta go."

"Okay," he sighs, "Sorry."

She whirls on him, crossing the distance between them and almost pinning him to the desk.

"About. What?"

"I...figured Ariel's father passed away," he says, "If that's the case, I'm sorry."

Her nostrils flare. Her knuckles crack and she grimaces, looking away before turning and walking to the door. He stands there for several moments as the door swings closed, staring at it before slumping against the desk with a sigh. Sometimes he doesn't understand women. Of course, at this point he's gone on enough dates to confirm that he does not, in fact, have a single clue how to keep a girl happy all the time, but that's probably because of his hangups.

Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he walks up the lecture hall stares and out the door, pausing as he hears his name.

"Shinji Ikari?"

The voice is gruff, older than him. Maybe in the forties or fifties.

"Yes?"

The man approaching him seems familiar. European, he can tell by his skin tone and posture, dressed in a set of black slacks and open jacket with a open collared off-yellow buttoned shirt. The man's hair is mainly gray with shades of brown, his hands deftly flicking off the sunglasses as he walks up to Shinji and shoves his hands in his pocket, setting a square jaw.

"Great," he says, "Thought I'd have to look all over campus for you. I've owed you this for about eight years, by the way."

Which is when the man's fist darts out faster than it has any rights to for a fifty year old man and catches Shinji in the jaw, making him stumble back with a yell but still keep from falling to the ground. Years of sparring with his own father have toughened him up. Still, that _hurt._

"Well, you can take a punch," the man says, "Guess that's an improvement. Now that that's out of the way-"

"What the _F__ was that for?" Shinji screams.

"For making my daughter upset," he responds, hands up defensively, "She made me promise to slug you if we met, and well, she'd bring it up if I didn't."

Shinji glares at him. The man recoils, recognizing the Look as it comes to bear.

"I think we should, I don't know, get the introductions out of the way," Shinji growls, "Shinji Ikari. Special Inspector to NERV-1."

The man smirks.

"Pieter Langely," he responds, "Director of NERV-Germany. Asuka's father. Hi."

Well, Shinji thinks, That's where he recognized him from. At least he knows where Asuka got her right hook from.

"C'mon," Pieter says, slapping Shinji on the arm, "I'll buy you a beer."

* * *

...

* * *

The center of NERV-Antarctica is a shaft leading two miles below, to the heart of the Seventh Continent. There are five people with clearance to access the the elevator of the shaft. Only two of those people know about the clearance.

The floors tick down. Gendo watches the counter as they do, flexing his black gloved right hand. The prothesis is state of the art. In fact, it was only because of his special case, of how his hand was apparently burned off cell by cell that the artificial hand even works for him at all.

He tries not to dwell on this, but the right does remind him of old times.

The elevator hits the bottom floor. The doors open. He's waiting.

"I remember many things, Ikari. Would you like to know my father's motivations? Why Lorenz Kihl wanted to end the human race?"

"Not really," Gendo says, "In all honesty, I don't care. Every time I come here, you try more mind games. It gets old after a while."

The orange field flickers. On the other side, across the polished metal hallway built from a gigantic, carved out bone, the ash haired young man bares his teeth.

It's always like this. He was found, along with everything else down here. Sustained by whatever it is that the Dead Continent was made from, provided for, but never free.

"Why do you visit, Ikari?" Kaworu Nagisa asks, "Why you. Why no one else?"

"It's in my interests," he responds, pacing the field, "And not in anyone else's."

"And always the same questions," Kaworu sighs, extending a hand as a bench folds up from the floor, "Here it comes..."

"Are there any more Angels?"

"No, there aren't," Kaworu says, waving him off as he sits, "Only me, even if I am not an Angel any longer, and your other guest and your adopted daughter. Nothing else."

Gendo says nothing, staring at him. One of the many who almost cost him everything during his younger years, when he far stupider than he is now.

"You never ask us to remove you," Gendo says, placing a hand on the field as it ripples, "Why?"

"Because I shouldn't leave," Kaworu responds, "This is my sentence."

"For?"

"For everything," Kaworu says, and sighs once more, "The first Angel War. The second Angel War. My parts in it, both willing and unwilling."

He snaps his fingers. The air behind distorts, forming into a rectangular screen playing images. The end of Instrumentality. The Black Angel rising over the ruins of Geneva.

Scene after scene of war, destruction, death. All in the past twelve years as the young man in his twenties, with red eyes and skin the color of dirty snow, says nothing.

"Is that all, Ikari?"

"Yes," Gendo responds, "For now."

He pushes his glasses up his nose, and turns, walking back into the elevator. The lift speeds back up to the surface, leaving Kaworu along with his thoughts. And the red eyes watching in the walls.


	5. You Can Check out Anytime You Want

The sight of the giant diamond at the heart of Tokyo-3 understandably freaked them both out. Unfortunately, by then their companions had left and they were stuck here, so they decided to find some sort of familiar, common ground. It was easy enough to find, though. Even after God knows how many years, she hadn't changed her access codes to her apartment door.

"Pen Pen?"

The voice is weak, warbly. Not as bad as it was when she found them, though. The past few weeks have done a lot to toughen him up, or at least make him functional.

"Great. Is the penguin dead?"

She, on the other hand, is more or less the same.

Carefully slipping off his sneakers, he pads his way into the living room. The television isn't the same, he muses, and sees that the paint on the walls has also changed. Did she remodel?

"Great," she says, staring at the open fridge, "Beer and ramen. Some things don't change."

"I don't think we should go through her things like this."

"You had the idea of breaking in," she sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Any more bright ideas, or should we waltz into NERV and hug your Dad?"

"Lots of things I want to do to my father, and hugging is not one of them."

The door slides open. The brown haired, 15 year old boy turns first, the red haired girl of the same age turning around as Chidori stands in the doorway. She glances between the two, as the boy squeaks and the girl mutters something in German.

"Who are you?" Chidori demands, blocking the doorway, "What are you doing in the Sub Commander's apartment?"

"I'll knock her out," the girl says, craning her neck, "Make a run for it. I'll meet you at NERV."

The girl kicks off her leg, vaulting over the table to lunge fist first towards the young pilot. In theory, this would play out exactly like it seems, the 15 year old boy thinks. Well, in theory.

Because in fact, the 14 year old Chidori Watanabe then blocked the punch, elbowed her in the gut, and knocked her out with a kick to the face.

He stares at the unconscious girl for a long moment. Slowly, he turns back to Chidori as the girl fixes her ponytail, falling into a fighting stance with her closed fists held out in front of her.

"So," he says, "Um...is it wrong I found that incredibly attractive?"

* * *

**Chapter 5: You Can Check out any time you Want...**

* * *

The bar is near the actual premises of the university. From the ubiquitousness of it, Shinji can tell it is probably used by both university students and the staff of NERV-2. It isn't bad, just...there. Of course, the beer labels are in german, so he can't read them, either.

"So," Langely says, pouring the beer into Shinji's mug, "What has my daughter told you?"

"Outside of 'Go to Hell,' 'Kiss my ass,' and 'Die'?"

"Outside of that," Langely sighs, "You've met..."

"Yeah," Shinji says with a nod, "And considering that I can't find any public record, I'm guessing I shouldn't say the name out loud, either."

Pieter nods, taking a drag from his glass, which Shinji notices the fig leaf symbol on. Definitely a company bar. Well, NERV owns Tokyo-3, no doubt they would have stock in Berlin, to.

"When Asuka left, she rubbed some people the wrong way," Pieter says, holding up a hand to keep Shinji from interrupting, "I see you're not one of them. Why?"

Shinji sighs, staring at his beer. Folding his hands in front of a mouth, into a ball instead of a bridge like his father does, he sighs again.

"That's a good question," he says, "I mean, I did get the worst of it. No offense, Director, but Asuka wasn't in the best shape. She broke my nose, hit me in the face with a chair and choked me until I was unconscious. Lucky for her, I was hurt worse as an Eva pilot."

Pieter pauses, staring at him. He blinks, the confusion on his face obvious.

"What did you do?" he asks, "What set her off?"

Shinji takes a long drag from the beer. In truth, it's good beer. Certainly better than the stuff Misato stocks.

"I asked her out on a date."

Shinji stares at him. The shock on his face is obvious. Poor guy, he thinks, he's probably only gotten one side of the story for the past eight years.

"Yeah, well," Shinji continues, "No one in Tokyo-3 got their act together until after Asuka left. She got it worse than anyone when the JSSDF attacked NERV, and then...well, after I got out of my coma, I tried to put this all behind me."

"And? Did you?"

Shinji finishes the beer. Placing the glass on the coaster, he takes the napkin and dabs his mouth.

"Would you?" he asks, "If you'll excuse me, Director, I need to make a report to the Commander."

With that, he pushes back the chair and walks out.

* * *

...

* * *

The phone rings. His father's secretary, Kiko, answers the phone, as always flighty and flirty and while he sometimes appreciates that, now isn't the time.

"Transfer me to the Commander, please."

"_Oooke~ey dokey!"_

The phone beeps, and picks up.

"Okay, we've got a problem," Shinji says, pacing the carpet of his suite, launching into the conversation to avoid his father's redirection, "Some things we didn't know, or I should say I didn't know. I need to know everything you have about Ariel, Asuka's daughter. Does NERV have her father on record? Is it related to Eva? Is there a reason that NERV is overlooking Director Langely keeping all records of a five year old girl top-secret?"

A pause, on the other end.

"_Um, yeah,"_ Touji says, "_I was trying to tell you that your Dad is not in Tokyo-3 right now. What's this about the Demon spawning?"_

_

* * *

_

...

* * *

Closing the phone, Shinji groans, resting his face in his hands as he realizes just how badly he screwed up this time around.

The answer comes to him in the serendipitous knocking on the door. Walking over to it, he turns the handle, already feeling it in the air. Who is waiting for him. Once again, he realizes, he's probably screwed things up beyond recognition with just words. Swinging the door open, his gaze locks with the blue eyes, and he winces and rolls with the slap.

"You _son of a bitch,"_ Asuka growls, "I don't know what you said, but my _father_ just spent the past hour yelling at me!"

"He asked me what happened when you left!" he responds, hand on his cheek as she pushes past him, "I told him the truth! It's not my fault you never told him!"

He hears her knuckles crack. Inwardly, he winces, absently looking for escape routes. But the punch doesn't come, her hand unclenching as she averts her eyes from him, biting her lip as he finally sees how bloodshot her eyes are, how slumped her shoulders are. This is not the same girl who put him in a coma, he realizes.

He remembers what Misato told her, about her past. About the issues they knew she had but didn't do anything about. In all honesty, that girl was never real.

"Asuka," he says, "It's worse."

"What," she says, turning back to him, "What's worse?"

He sighs, scratching his head.

"I just called NERV to report to my father," he says, hands up defensively, even if he doesn't technically need it, "We both know my father knows about Ariel, right? Well...my father's not there."

"Who knows," she asks.

"Touji," he responds, sighing, "I made him swear to keep it secret, but I wouldn't be surprised if Hikari knows, to."

The color drains from her face. In all honesty, he didn't think her former best friend finding out would be a shock to her. So the reaction she has, the terror crossing her face, catches him off guard. In a moment, it is gone, replaced by the mask she wears, her eyes clenching shut as she pushes past him to the door.

"I know you hate me," she says, barely above a whisper, "But you didn't have to bring my daughter into this."

With that, she walks out, gently closing the door behind her. He feels his cheek. She didn't slap him that hard. But for some reason, he feels like she hit him with a chair.

* * *

...

* * *

He paces the living room of the suite. Pen Pen is sitting on Misato's lap, both of them watching him, in turn, pull at his hair, cover his mouth with his hands, and fold his hands behind his head as if he is trying to yank his head off.

"So," Misato says, "I'm thinking he's carrying the torch."

"_Wark?_"

"Well," Misato continues, "It's obvious that he's always had a thing for Asuka. Back then they were two hormonal teenagers, who showed their attraction to each other through violence or running. And now, they're two hormonal adults. And on top of that, Shinji's wrestling with the realization that Asuka is now a MIL-"

"Are you done?"

He spins on them, a little too hard and makes another full rotation. Sighing, he walks over to the couch and sits next to them, holding his face in his hands.

"Damn it," he growls, "My luck never changes, does it?"  
"Considering I was there when you popped your cherry, I'm telling you that it doesn't change with _Asuka._ You have a tendency of putting your foot in your mouth with her."

"And whooped-dee-do, that's my job," Shinji moans, leaning back, hands covering his face as Misato rifles through her purse and takes out her phone, "Misato, what are you doing?"

"Speeding along your mission."

She dials the number, waiting as Shinji slowly turns to her. He stares at Pen Pen, who shrugs his flippers before turning back to Misato.

"Yo, Makinami," Misato says, elbow resting on Pen Pen's head as the penguin warbles in protest, "Got a job for you..."

* * *

...

* * *

Listening in on his PDA, Gendo Ikari nods as the plane flies back towards Tokyo-3. He is alone in the cabin, listening in on the phone conversation between Katsuragi and Makinami. Well, he thinks, this part of the plan should be set up well enough. That is the mark of a chessmaster, after all. If you do things right, they won't think you did anything at all.

"Phase two," he says, tapping off the PDA and withdrawing his phone from his jacket, "Ready?"

* * *

...

* * *

One hand is on the phone, the other waving goodbye to her husband and their two daughters. Sighing, she rests the phone in the nook between her shoulder and ear, shrugging on her carry on bag and laptop case.

"Yes, Commander," Hikari Suzuhara says, the young, brown haired woman, mother of two, director of NERV-daycare and one of the handful of people who has seen Commander Ikari shit faced says, "Boarding the plane now."

Humming as she closes and turns off the phone, she smiles to the attendant as she hands her ticket over, the prominent lettering labeling it first class as the stub is handed back to her.

Well, she thinks, at least his demands aren't unreasonable and he's willing to spring for extras. And her weekend bag over her shoulder, she adjusts her ponytail and enters the walkway to her plane to Berlin.

* * *

...

* * *

In Tokyo-3(a), there is a bar not too far from the NERV facilities. She comes there when she is...troubled. She has been troubled, very much so, since returning from Berlin. She is conflicted and confused, although she is well trained enough not to let such things show in casual conversation.

Rei Ayanami fully expected Asuka Langely Sohryu to still be the same raging she-beast she was eight years ago. She is, after all herself, timeless. She fully expected Rei to be, as well. But no. No, the Demon Queen of NERV had gone and changed her personality to a measurable extent, complete with having a daughter. Which is probably what disturbs Rei the most.

No. It is not anger. Not entirely.

What she feels about Sohryu is _envy._

Envy for her still having Ikari-kun pursuing her. Envy for her moving...outside...of the Scenario's shadow.

Because deep within her, the still throbbing core of Lilith has become part of her. The seven eyed mask whispering in the back of her mind. And the mother of Mankind, of Life, keeps demanding one thing.

_Babies._

Babies babies babies _babies._

Calmly, she sips at her drink, thinking for a moment at the Lilithian perfection that is organic life. Thousands of millions of billions of cells, dividing in an orgy of reproduction. Endless, constant creation of cellular _babies._ Lilith must be very proud of herself, indeed. Herself. Itself. She can't figure out what gender She is.

All she knows is that Lilith Wants Babies.

More importantly, Lilith believes the source of _babies_ should be Ikari-kun. Even though her is her half brother. But she agrees, to an extent. After all, she is a walking crime against God, so tying down her brother and shaking his willow tree would be less offensive than her continues existence. Perhaps that is why she wanted to provoke Sohryu.

Because she sees Sohryu as a rival. If she had disabled, or perhaps simply rendered Sohryu mute, she would have not had the competition for Ikari-kun. And she would be able to make Babies.

_Babies._

"Ayanami?"

She arches a blue eyebrow. The sandy haired young man has entered the wood finished bar, standing by the table she has ducked into at the corner. A ceiling fan spins overhead. Music plays on the speakers, tied into the bartender's laptop.

"Kensuke Aida," Rei says.

He smiles. Widely, teeth separated slightly, as he takes off his worn hat and places it next to his drink. He is dressed in a leather jacket, a white buttoned shirt and worn, dirt crusted genes. Jeans. There is stubble on his chin, but not as if he is trying to grow a beard. The stubble is more that of a man too busy to shave.

He is...more fit than the gangly youth of her adolescence. He has a tan, something thought impossible to the social recluse. Under the white buttoned shirt she sees the beginning of a fit, able form, his leather jacket showing wear and his glasses having seen better days.

"Been a while, Ayanami," he says with a smile, unbidden as he sits across from her, setitng his beer on the coaster, "How've you been?"

He is staring at her face. It is a marked improvement from the gangly teen who could not take his eyes off of her breasts. There is an alertness, a deepness to his eyes which she finds intriguing. Fascinating.

"I have been well," Rei says, folding her hands into a bridge under her nose, "And you?"

"Been around," he responds, "I hear you have Katsuragi's old job. How's that been working out for you?"

"It has been a challenge. I find that I like challenges. What about you?"

He shrugs.

"I do nature documentaries," he responds, sipping his beer, "I just got back from New Zealand. It's fascinating. And, well, dangerous. I can't count the number of times that I almost got eaten."

He smiles, a genuine smile with good teeth. Nodding to her, she stares back, raising a blue eyebrow.

"Got to say, Ayanami. The look suits you."

She blushes, unbidden. That is the problem. Any potential mate she finds usually falls into two categories; attached and related. While she is sure that Pilot Suzuhara could make many strong babies, she also knows Mrs. Suzuhara would not react kindly. The same goes for the entire bridge crew and many of those under her command. Those not related or attached are put off by her appearance, which is admittedly not normal.

Except…

Rei smiles, unbidden. Red eyes glitter in the dim twilight of the bar as she folds her hands beside her glass. Yes, she thinks.

She can work with this.

"You keep...records...of your travels?"

"Yep. I have an apartment in Tokyo-3 about two blocks down," he says, finishing off his beer, "So...you want to see my portfolio?"

She nods.

"Check, please."

* * *

...

* * *

The call from Mari came just as she was on the bus home. Mari was setting her up on yet another one of her well meaning but useless blind dates. She was watching over Ari tonight, so was Dad, and they might even be able to rope in Claire into doing something grandmotherly. Fat chance. Still, it was approved by their father, and if anything they've built some respect for him since he put Claire in her place following Ari's birth.

So, she decided to play along. She went home with time enough to shower and grab something dressy, which is also a problem because she keeps anything real formal at the Estate. Her dress, as it is, is a knee length black dress, full sleeves thanks to the shawl she has over the thick black straps, and showing barely any cleavage. If her old friends in Tokyo-3 could see her now, they'd wonder what she did with their Asuka.

Of course, she could tell them that 'their' Asuka has nine discolored scars covering her body and doesn't want to show the damn things off. Oh, right, she did tell them that at one point, at full volume, before hitting the Stooge in the face with a textbook. That got her suspended for a week.

Good times.

Sighing, she enters the restaurant, purse in hand. Her walking is a little stiff because she hasn't worn this dress in three years, since Mari's first attempt at marriage which failed spectacularly.

Adjusting the bust line of her dress and making sure she has something on display, but not enough to give it away for free, she enters the waiting area of the restaurant. She's never been in _here,_ only seen it from the outside. Chandeliers made of crystal reflect light over the crushed velvet carpets and white clothed tables, the scent of food she cannot name making her mouth water.

Businessmen, the rare film stars she can name, and millionaires mill about the waiting area, none paying attention to her. Of course, she could announce _who_ she is, and then they'd be falling all over her, but…no.

No.

She's put that behind her, she thinks, as she looks at the full wall aquarium, spotting rare specimens from her studies, including one she was sure was extinct, before she clears her throat and approaches the desk of the Maître 'd, a short, distinguished man with a thin mustache and a disapproving glare. He looks over her and narrows his eyes…and nods, a small tinge of recognition.

"Yes. He is already here."

He snaps his fingers, a waiter her age appearing. He nods to her, and gesturing into the dining area, leads her in. Holding her purse tightly, she lets her eyes wander. At one table, she sees the president of the university dining with a student a few years younger than her, at another she sees the Chancellor and his wife. Waiters and busboys flit about with mechanical precision, and her stomach growls in an undignified fashion from its steady diet of instant and pre-made meals as she takes in the scent of a perfectly prepared filet mignon.

"Your table, Miss."

She nods, turning to the two person table, ready to face whatever nameless, and in this case rich fan that her sister has set her up with, shrugging off her shawl as she plasters on her best, winning smile.

And Shinji waves back, and the smile disappears.

The glowing smile turns into the familiar glare, which for some obscene reason prompts Shinji to smile as she slowly, shakily sits down across from him as the waiter comes over.

"We'll have the two most expensive items on your list, please," he says, handing the menu over, "Also, a bottle of your most expensive...what is it, red? White?"

He turns to her.

"Is red good?"

She blinks, saying nothing as he turns back to the waiter.

"Your most expensive red wine. Two glasses, leave the bottle."

"Very good, Inspector."

The waiter nods, taking the menus and walking away, a careful strut to the kitchen as Shinji turns and folds his hands on the table in front of him. The fabric of the arm rests creaks under Asuka's gloved nails as she narrows her eyes and her breathing slows.

"You look nice," he says.

"What are you _doing?_" she growls back.

"Ordering dinner," he nonchalantly says, taking a breadstick and avoiding the candle at the center of the table, "My father recommended the restaurant, and this is all going on my NERV expense account."

She pinches the bridge of her nose, grinds her teeth as he chews on the stick, before sitting back up and folding her arms. Pushing her glasses back up, he smiles again. It is a new side to him, she notices. He practically exudes confidence. She isn't sure if she likes that, yet.

"What do you want?"

"Well, first, to apologize," he says, hands up defensively, "I'm sorry I blurted out the...thing...to Touji, but he's sworn to secrecy. Out of everyone else, maybe Hikari knows, but there's definitely worse people who could find out."

Asuka sighs, nodding.

"And second?"

"I wanted witnesses so you don't hit me," he says with a smirk, tenting his fingers behind his head as he leans back, "Mind you, this was mainly Misato's idea. I think she's still trying to breed the pilots."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. She plays matchmaker with the pilots at NERV-1, to."

Asuka sighs, shaking her head. She notices the easy confidence, the relaxation he seems to radiate. Eight years, and he's become Kaji, she realizes. Or maybe this is what the Commander is like, under the layers of secrecy and manipulation.

"So, I'm pretty sure you didn't come all the way from Japan to ask me on a date."

"That I did not," he responds, and sighs, shaking his head, "You know I work for NERV, now."

"But you don't pilot."

He nods.

"I couldn't pilot even if I want to," he responds, "Unit 01 doesn't respond for anyone anymore, not since Impact. So, I'm pretty much in Kaji's old job. Which means the Commander sends me places where he needs stuff done."

The wine bottle is places in the ice bucket next to the table, two glasses poured for them.

"And you came here to recruit Mari," Asuka says, "I know that."

He takes a sip of the wine. None of the derisiveness is there, but he's noticed that for a while. She has changed. The fearsome firebrand has mellowed out considerably. So, he may as well try his luck now.

"Okay," he says, tenting his hands in front of his face, "I was also here for you. The Commander wants you to take over Dr. Akagi's position as head of Project E."

She stares at him for a long minute, blinking once before taking the cup of wine and draining it in one gulp. Cheeks flush red and she gasps, slamming the cup down as she points a shaky finger at him.

"Not a chance in Hell."

* * *

...

* * *

Standing on the stepping stool in front of his DVD library, he reaches up and pulls out a folder. Flipping through it, he admires the pictures he has set in the plastic sheathes, each of them of him on another shoot. Grabbing another, he tucks them both under his arms with a grin. It feels good to be around friends, even if not the closest friends, what with his two oldest school mates working at NERV all hours.

"So, these are my favorites," he says, "I've been doing this for years, really. I love photography, I love seeing the world, and since people are interested in how the environment's been recovering since Second Impact, I've got a big market. I made this trip over to Alaska two years ago."

"Interesting. What did you do there?"

"Charted migration, tracked some new breeds of arctic animals. We found these herds of Polar Bears, which is incredible because Impact changed their social habits! No one's ever guessed that sort of thing can happen."

"Yes, it is. This is agreeable."

He turns to the couch, smiling.

"Really?"

He turns on his heel, and stops. The photo albums drop to the floor.

Just in time with the last of Rei's clothes. Standing stock still, eyes wide as saucers, Ken takes in the full impact of the scene before him. Mouth open, stammering, he can only stare.

At least until the pale hand grabs him by the shirt.

* * *

...

* * *

"A long time ago, far, far away, there was a handsome Prince and a beautiful Princess, and..."

Third storybook of the night. He looks up from the chair by the blue and red bed to see his five year old grand daughter fast asleep. She doesn't snore, just like her mother. She also doesn't talk in her sleep, because unlike her mother, she doesn't have nightmares. As it should be for a girl that age, Pieter Langely tells himself, leaning in and pecking her on the forehead.

He sighs. His shoulders slump as his smile fades, the age lines on his face becoming more and more pronounced.

"Long ago, there was a very arrogant man who did something very stupid."

He closes the book, propping his elbows on his knees, folding his hands under his chin.

"This man did something which hurt someone he cared very much about," he sighs, "And hurt her, very badly. And now that man's been making up for that mistake for years, hoping he can forgive himself for what he did."

Sighing, he moves a bang of red hair away from Ariel's eyes, standing up and slowly, softly leaving the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Leaning against the wall, he closes his eyes and rests his head. He always volunteers for babysitting duty whenever Mari puts Asuka on a date. Well, it's fitting, he thinks. Ever since Asuka re-entered his life eight years ago, he makes it a point to be there, mainly because of how badly he screwed up the first eight years.

This time was no different. Even after he and Asuka went at it over her lying to him about why she left Tokyo-3, he still couldn't just cut her out of his life. He did that for years, and look where it got them.

He isn't sure if his daughter ever forgave him for what he did to her mother, but at the same time Asuka wouldn't wish what happened to her to be foisted on Mari, either. So, they live with it.

And then the door knocks. Sighing, glancing at Ariel's room and remembering the girl's a deep sleeper, he pads across the apartment and opens the door. A young woman with brown hair in a ponytail, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt and holding a travel bad over her shoulder stares at him, looks him up and down and backs away.

"Yes?" Pieter asks.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the woman says, her german carrying a thick japanese accent, "I...oh. Is Asuka around?"

He shakes his head, sighing.

"No," he says, "Who's asking?"

"Right, sorry," the woman says, shifting on her feet, "This is awkward. I...well, you're not what I expected. This is embarrassing."

"What, praytell, is embarrassing?" Pieter asks, leaning on the doorframe.

"Just...well, I remember how Asuka kept talking about Mr. Kaji, but I..."

He slaps his hand over his face, sighing. He realizes that this young woman is also one of the remnants of Asuka's life in Tokyo-3, and can only come to the conclusion that everyone in that city is an asshat.

"You're not the father, are you?" she asks.

"Well, I'm _a_ father," Pieter says, "I'm a _grandfather._ And I'm _Asuka's_ father."

"Oh...I'm sorry, I just assumed-"

"And when you _assume,_ you make an _ass_ out of _you_ and _me._ Name?"

"Hikari Suzuhara. I was Asuka's best friend in Tokyo-3," she responds.

"Wonderful," Pieter says with a smile, "And it's her vast support network of dear friends which makes it completely understandable why my daughter came home with post traumatic stress, suicidal tendencies, and a habit of burning any pictures she had of her time in Japan."

Hikari steps back, eyes going wide and jaw dropping.

"Now, wait just a minute-"

"I'm sorry, lady, but we gave last year," Pieter says, "Come back when the lady of the house is home."

And with that, he slams the door in Hikari's face. Grinning, he walks over to the couch and slumps down, turning on the television. That felt _good._

_

* * *

_

...

* * *

_ …_

_ Whumpa._

_ Whumpa whumpa whumpa._

_ … … …_

_ Whumpe whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa squeaky whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa whumpa squeaaaaaaaaaak._

"Oh God! Oh my God, Rei-"

"Round two."

"...oh god-"

_Whumpa whumpa whumpa WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA squeak._

"...buh...guh...ah..."

"Do you require anything?"

"...guh...um...glass of orange juice and an IV drip?"

"Do you require anything that would entail me leaving the bed?"

"...uh..."

"Do you want me to untie you?"

"Yes please."

"Mm..."

"Ayanami?"

"Too bad."

_ WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA WHUMPA..._

_

* * *

_

...

* * *

An eyebrow raises. One eye on the screen showing Rei's new...hobby...the other on the screen showing the restaurant in Germany, where Sohryu has out of hand rejected the job offer from NERV. Leaning back in his chair, elbows on his arm rests and hands tented in front of him, Gendo Ikari narrows his eyes. The chair is comfortable. When he was reinstated as Commander of NERV during the Second Angel War, he insisted on lumbar support.

"Not going to plan?" Keiko asks, leaning on the chair.

"Hardly," he responds, "I simply keep multiple plans. I have a Plan B."

"What sort of Plan B?" his wife asks.

He clicks a remote. A side door opens.

"One that requires consultation with our guest."


	6. Family Reunion

Uniform shoes run through the hall, making a distinctive metal clapping sound as he exits the elevator at full tilt and makes a beeline for the Office, the Mausoleum, or whatever the f_ he wants it to be called now. Hydraulics in his artificial leg activate and he vaults over the secretary's desk, Kiko tilting to the side and letting him pass unencumbered before going back to studiously filing her nails.

"Three...two...one..."

"_Motherf_er!"_

The doors swing back open. Kiko smiles, that rictus grin of hers that says she's either happy, she's flirty, or she's going to eat you.

"Kiko," Touji says, "_Where_ is the Commander?"

"The Commander's out for the next few days," Kiko says with a smile.

"Kiko, I just interviewed the intruders that Chidori picked up from the Sub Commander's apartment. Where did the Commander just go?"

She opens the file on her computer screen. Turning the monitor to him, she keeps smiling as Touji's face drops, a litany of swears escaping his throat that would mean violent death if his wife were in earshot.

"Oh, _f__. You know what? _F__ this! Kiko, lock down the f_ing airports! No one else goes to f_ing Berlin until _I_ say so!"

He kicks the doors back open, stomping in.

"Aaaaand what'cha doing, Commander?"

A pause. A turn, and Touji peaks his head out.

"That's right! I'm the _f_ing_ Commander! And I'm getting Director Langley on the phone and telling him to find Ikari the moment he gets to Berlin and get him on the f_ing phone so I can rip that bearded f_ a new _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _!"

He slams the doors shut. Smiling, Kiko taps the screen, bringing up her to-do list, and a new day dawns on Tokyo-3.

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

**Family Reunion**

* * *

Dinner did not go at all like he was expecting. Well, he expected that Asuka would turn down the job offer right out, and he wasn't terribly surprised when she did. He was also expecting her to stab him with the steak knife, which was probably why he was a little nervous when she got said steak, but again, he was pleasantly surprised by her restraint. At very least, he managed to patch things up a little.

Stumbling into the hotel, he sighs, waving to the man at the desk who's name escapes him, mainly because he doesn't speak a word of German and would have instructions forwarded to him. Yeah, that's right, less contact the better. His phone pings as he rubs his eyes, pulling it out of his pocket. A message from Misato, telling him she left a message at the hotel bar.

Well, he probably had a few minutes until he collapses completely, so he has time. Padding his feet across the lobby, wincing at the bright lights, he enters the bar. Smell of smoke and alcohol fills his nostrils, and once again he curses the fact that he never really drank, cursing as well that he helped polish off a bottle of wine with a woman who's gone to college twice and has germanic ancestry. He navigates his way to the bar itself, past the tables, narrowly missing a waiter, the hardwood floors felt all the way through the soles of his now sensitive feet. Pulling up a stool, he waits as the bartender walks over, waving slightly to the balding blonde man as he cleans the shotglass with the rag in his hand.

"Ah, right," he says, taking out a notepad and tearing off a piece of paper, "'Least you're not still ordering."

"Sorry?" he asks, trying to raise an eyebrow and stopping before he wets himself, "What's that mean?"

"Yeah, I got two japanese customers," he says, "Other one's the girl who's smashed out of her head. Ya might want to pick her up before she starts table dancing."

He points over to the table on the other side of the bar, Shinji sighing as he takes the note and begins walking over. He can already hear the whooping and hollering, a mix of german and japanese, of which he only understands the latter, which mainly consists of a very familiar voice saying that she 'doesn't understand' and 'my husband could kick your ass.' Bringing the note up to eye level, Shinji stares at it and sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

It's probably because she's hammered that she's in the situation to begin with, holding a mostly drained beer bottle in her hand and her purse in her other, one of her suiters on the floor unconscious and the blood from his nose decorating the bottom of her purse. She is speaking in excited japanese, poking the guy in front of her, at least a foot taller than her, in the chest as he tries to grab at her hands and says something in german which probably wouldn't be said in front of her kids.

Sighing, Shinji walks over, reaching into his pocket, taking out the small cylinder he swiped off of Asuka's keychain and waving it in front of the man. He screams, grabbing at his face and collapsing, before Shinji folds his arms and tries his best stern expression, and failing miserably.

He can tell she is completely hammered, swaying from side to side, a bemused smile on her face. Her sweatshirt is pulled slightly to the left, her jeans discolored from spilled drinks as she rests her arms on his shoulders and belches.

"Hey there," Hikari slurs, "Well, you ain't my husband, but you'll do."

She laughs, almost collapsing against him, chortling with her hands against his chest as she slips and almost falls, his hands around her waist to keep her upright. Right, that was the note. 'Hikari's in Berlin, she's at your hotel, and she kept going on about screwing up,' in Misato's handwriting.

"Alright," he sighs, "You're at this hotel?"

"Think so," she slurs.

"Okay. Room number?"

"Dunno."

He sighs. Turning to the entrance of the bar, he begins dragging her out, only to find her legs aren't working like they should. She giggles, stumbling, before latching onto his back and climbing on, wrapping her arms around his throat and her legs around his waist, loudly laughing as he carries her out and into the elevator.

Tapping the button for his floor with his nose, he releases her, Hikari dropping to the floor with a shout and a laugh. Helping her up, she rests against the elevator's window, the floors passing by as she groans, eyes closed, her ponytail half out of its clasp, and her hands resting on the rail.

"What happened?" he asks.

"I done f_ed up," she moans, "Real badly."

"Okay," he sighs, scratching his head, "Got that. What happened?"

She folds her arms, swaying from side to side, warbling in her throat as she slaps her hand over her face. She stumbles to the side, stripping over the loose laces of her sneakers and shouting as she falls, Shinji moving to catch her. He picks her up, holding her up, arms around her waist as she rests her head against his shoulders and the elevator rings. Dragging her alongside him, he enters his suite, Hikari's back stiffening before she pushes off of him and sprints to the bathroom. Following with a sigh, he waits, watching as she throws up, bent over the toilet, moving in to keep her hair from getting in the way, fixing the clasp as he does so, setting her high ponytail back onto place as she wretches up the beer and whatever else she was drinking while he was out to dinner.

He waits as she finishes, stumbling to the sink, grabbing the mouthwash and gargling. Walking out of the bathroom to the repeated sounds of gargling and spitting, gargling and spitting, he goes into the kitchen, reaching into the fridge and taking out a pair of break rolls. He's still feeling the effects himself, still wincing at any sound, still stumbling over his feet.

The bathroom door closes, sneakers padding across the carpet, stumbling against the wall.

"Feeling better?"

"A bit," she groans.

"Good. What happened?"

"I met Asuka's dad," she says, "Thought he f_ed her. Told him I was her friend, he asked where I was for the past eight years."

He winces. Yeah, his dealings with Director Langley more or less followed those lines as well. If anything, he seemed to be making up for his years as a less than stellar father.

"Ouch. Sorry about that. How're you feeling?"

"Like crap," she says, as he grins, slicing the two rolls, "Can't call Touji. He'll just say bitchiness runs in the family. Sisters aren't answering their phones, so I just ducked into the bar and wanted to get f_ing wasted."

"And in that you succeeded," he sighs, and reaches for the fridge. Only for a hand to slam the fridge door shut. That same hand grabs him by the collar, and Hikari licks her lips before jamming her lips against his own. His eyes go wide, dropping the butter knife, arms wrapping around her before pulling her off and holding her at arms length.

"Okay," he breathes, "What are you doing?"

"I've been veeeeery bad," she slurrs, "I think I'm not _done_ being bad, yet."

She reaches down, pulling off and tossing aside her sweatshirt, left in her white t shirt which he can see the definite outline of her bra under, before she pushes him up against the refrigerator. The years have been kind to her, in all honesty. Where there was a cute, if somewhat gawky girl when they were 14 there is now a beautiful woman in the flush of motherhood, whom he got to know a lot better, especially when Asuka left for Germany.

"Okay," he says, as she presses him against the fridge, pressing her chest against his, "This is a bad idea."

"Wasn't so bad six years ago," she slurrs with a lopsided grin.

"Six years ago you were single," he says, "And it was still a bad idea then."

His advantage is that he's a good three inches taller than her, standing on his tip toes to keep her from reaching, her completely smashed mind keeping her from taking a logical approach and top toeing herself. Unfortunately, her mind then goes into the approach of grabbing his crotch, making him groan as she tries to reach into his pants.

"Bad idea," he breathes, eyes crossing as she giggles, "Really _really_ bad idea-"

He pulls free, grabbing her hands, pulling her off of him and holding her hands above her head. Stumbling, they both fall to the floor, her pinned by him, his face hovering over hers.

"Okay," he says, "Okay. Stop."

Of course, part of him doesn't mind. Part of him remembers his junior year in college, right after his breakup with his first girlfriend, and after a big fight she had with her boyfriend. He can't remember what lead to what. Maybe it was him finally breaking down and talking about his father issues, maybe it was her yelling that she was a complete failure as a friend if she didn't notice how hurt the people she cared about were.

Maybe it was both of them that lead to that, that understanding, then the kiss, then...everything else, which they then swore to never talk about with anyone else for as long as they lived. He climbs off of her, sitting with his back against the fridge, as she sits next to him, tears already streaming down her face.

"It's alright," he says, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"It's not _f_ing_ alright!" she says, trying to yell but finding her heart just isn't in it, resting her head on his shoulder, "I can't believe I screwed up _twice_ with her."

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure we all share some blame," he sighs, squeezing her shoulder, "You should get some sleep. I'll take the couch. We'll go find Asuka in the morning."

She mutters an agreement, closing her eyes as she rests her head on his shoulder. She doesn't move for a while longer. Eventually, she does, and clicks the lights off when she stumbles into the suite's bedroom, leaving him alone in the kitchen.

* * *

...

* * *

It is probably the events of last night that got him thinking. It has been a long time, but still, he does wonder about it. During their junior year at college, they drifted apart a little, mainly because of age, distance, and other events. After Asuka's blow up during their senior year at high school, his friends were there for him, but he wondered if they were there for him, or to have a sympathetic audience while they lambasted the absent Devil. He didn't know. Didn't care. He smiled, nodded. Withdrew into himself.

He had a girlfriend during his first two years at college. Things were good for a while. He went to the college built just outside of Tokyo-3, not wanting to travel far. Touji went to Kyoto with Kensuke, who dropped out after a year to go find himself. Hikari ended up going to Kyoto at first, then to Tokyo-3.

Then he broke up with his girlfriend. Misato was busy as sub-commander, his father was...his father...Rei wanted to get into his pants and Touji was still living off the high of being the hero of the Second Angel War. Then, during the first month of his junior year, he heard a knock on his dorm room door and found Hikari, crying her eyes out. She just had an argument with her boyfriend- his friend, who he hadn't talked with in four months- and she needed to talk with someone. Her girlfriends were aghast that she would break up with him, him being a war hero after all. Kensuke was busy doing whatever he was doing, and she literally had no one else to talk to.

So, he let her in. She was probably the only one who actually tried to help him during his more depressed times, at least out of actual selflessness rather than obligation or family. He lets her in, and they sat on his small, one person bed in his spartan dorm room and he listened, nodding as she babbled about her problems, stopping every now and then to cry, while he mechanically kept handing her tissues.

He nodded, listened. Acted like he always did when someone had problems. But at some point it hit him. He had his first great revelation, seeing this young woman miserable and sobbing.

It wasn't all about him. At some point, he figured out the hedgehog's dilemma. It took him half an hour of her crying and sobbing and pouring her heart out to what she probably believed would just be someone nodding and watching when he decided he had to to something. So slowly, very slowly, he reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, before pulling her into a hug. It was, to him, weird. Her crying only became louder, and he didn't really say anything, but when she finished that round of crying she was actually smiling.

So, for the first time, they began to talk. Really talk, not like people trying to push each other away so they could be left alone, but like people who could help each other to solve their problems.

She talked about how she felt betrayed, how Touji kept looking at every girl but her, about how he was letting being a hero go to his head. About how she always felt in the middle of everything, even in her own family, like she was taken for granted. He talked about how he was always pushing everyone away, how no one understood the pain he'd gone through. He talked about Asuka, about how he was the only one who tried to help her. Their loneliness was palpable, physical, like it was weighing them down. He can't remember what it was that caused what happened. Maybe it was him offering his place to her for the night, intending to sleep on the floor. Maybe it was her asking if he thought she was attractive, and him honestly answering yes. Maybe it was the relief they felt from being able to let everything off their chests, but what followed was her kissing him, and him kissing back.

What followed was them practically tearing each other's clothes off, and admittedly not managing that very well, following them wrestling on the bed with not a lot of room to be honest. What followed was her nails on his back, his hands on her ankles, the crack of thunder from the rain storm outside as the power on the campus shut down. He remembers their fingers intertwining, his lips against her, her curled toes scratching his calves. He remembers her hands on his chest, his back against the sheets, his arms around her. He remembers the flashes of lightning, illuminating her underneath him, the booms from the thundercracks muted in his ears compared to her cries, his breathing, and the sounds of the bedframe hitting the wall. The entire night was a blur, from the moment they started to the weight of her head on his chest when they drifted off into exhausted sleep. But he remembers all of it.

And the next morning, they both admitted it was a terrible mistake. Sure, it was spectacular. Sure, it was...eye opening...but it was a mistake. She dressed, and left, to reconcile with Touji. He went to his classes, the weight lifted off his shoulders. Three months later, he was the best man at their wedding. Six months later, their first child, Aya, was born. Some part, deep within the pit of his stomach, suspected she could be his, but he also knew what sort of damage that pronunciation would make. Instead, he involved himself as much as possible, becoming the child's godfather.

* * *

...

* * *

And six years later, here he is now, sitting across the kitchen counter from her as she practically inhales the eggs and sausage omelet from room service.

"So," he says, "I take it Touji told you about..."

"Yep," she says with a smile, her hair hanging loose, a bathrobe covering her t-shirt and jeans, "He couldn't keep his mouth shut. You've met her?"

He nods.

"Yeah, we should head out in a few minutes," he says with a sigh, "Okay?"

She nods, shoveling the last of the food in, kicking off the stool and walking into the bathroom. He can hear the shower running, taking the plate, rinsing it off in the sink as he whistles. The doorbell rings and he sighs, walking over to it, not bothering with the peephole and opening.

"Hey, Third," Asuka says, adjusting her overcoat, "Got a minute?"

His eyes dart from side to side. He peeks down the hallway.

"Mari's got her," Asuka responds, hand up, pushing him back into the apartment, "Look, we need to talk. Commander Beardman's probably cross with you for not getting me onboard the SS Traumatrain, so you need to get him on the phone so we..."

"Hey, did I leave a shoe or anything in the bar?"

Towel wrapped around and ending at her knees, another towel wrapped around her hair, Hikari walks out of the bathroom. Freezing, she locks eyes with Asuka, who stares back, her face growing dark. And to Shinji's credit, he sees the hand move a second before it hits, his head ringing as he hits the floor. And just over the sound of his skull ringing, he hears the elevator ring as Asuka makes her exit.

* * *

...

* * *

The door to the office of the Supreme Commander opens, and Touji looks out from a heavy brow and bloodshot eyes to see Rei Ayanami sashay into the office. A guttural growl more suited to his Evangelion than himself comes from his throat, as he shifts aside the mounting pile of requisition forms to glare at her.

"Where were you?" he asks, and continues before she can respond, "I have been alone here for two days! I have been left in charge of NERV! We have an emergency down in Sheol, the Commander just took off for Berlin, and I have been trying to find the head of Tactical Ops- which is _you,_ by the way- for the past three days! Where the _Hell_ were you?"

"Attempting to breed," Rei responds.

Touji stops, mid rant, and stares at her.

"And that's officially way too much information," Touji says, "So...breeding?"

"Breeding. The part of my biology that was the Second Angel demands progeny."

He nods. His face has gone completely blank, and the mind behind the face is currently trying to lock in to certain signals. While the idea of Rei attempting to breed is pleasant, as Rei is an attractive woman which he will admit in any way that his wife cannot hear, there is also the fact that she is Rei.

And said progeny may have tentacles, or claws, or perhaps knives.

"Right," he says, "If I may ask a personal question, Rei..."

"Go ahead."

"...with what?"

"Kensuke Aida," Rei responds, the corners of her lip twitching upward, "I will spare you the details. You do not wish to hear about any of his physical traits, or stamina which was involved in the marathon-"

"Yeah, Rei," Touji says, rubbing his eyes, "Yeah, I don't."

He sits up, staring at her. She is smiling, faintly. This is worrying.

"Huh. We sort of bet that Kensuke was the guy from college."

"He was not."

"Huh. Guess Hikari loses the bet," he sighs, and stands up, "C'mon, Rei. We got to go down to Sheol. You need to see this."

He walks out, Rei following on his heels.

* * *

...

* * *

The elevator doors ring, sliding open, and what follows is two adults running out, through the lobby, and out the hotel door. A mix of japanese, of the man telling the woman, still fixing her jacket, that they have to find someone. German, of the clerk telling them to have a nice day, befuddled as he is.

And Asuka folds back the newspaper, sitting on the bench outside the hotel's restaurant. Fine, she thinks, let them chase around Berlin for a while. She'll cool down, they'll calm down, and they can talk, then. A snort, and she enters the restaurant, the air thick with the smell of grilling and expensive beer.

"Table for one," she says, "And coffee, black."

She lets herself be lead over to the table, in line of sight to the door. Should Shinji and Hikari- and that was Hikari, she realizes- put their heads on straight and come back to the hotel, they _should_ see her here, doing what she should be doing instead of getting involved in the sturm and drang that is NERV drama.

Opening up her briefcase, she takes out a folder of tests, and tapping the bottom of her pen, begins marking them.

"Oh, hello. Is this seat taken?"

She looks up. She recognizes japanese easily enough, and this woman is definitely speaking japanese. Somehow, somewhere, there is a hint of recognition- she hasn't met _this_ woman before, but she has met someone who _looks_ like her. But, considering how long she spent in Japan- or more importantly, the most traumatic part of Japan, she writes that off to everything else that's been going on during this Old Home week.

"Nope," she says, scribbling a comment on Dieter's paper that he is on the right track with the absolutely wrong conclusion, "Feel free."

There's some gray in the dark hair, a familiar smirk on the woman's face. She has to be...fifties. Maybe sixties. Perhaps just keeps herself well preserved. Smartly dressed, but nothing formal, just a nice sweater and skirt, sitting across from Asuka. The smirk becomes wider, and the woman extends her hand.

"Keiko," she says.

Asuka inwardly sighs, and takes the hand, shaking it.

"Asuka," she says, "So...you're not from Berlin?"

"Japan, actually," Keiko responds, in japanese, "You can understand me. I'm surprised how many people here are _mono_lingual."

"I lived in Japan for a few years," Asuka responds, "I picked up the language. Don't ask me to write. Here on vacation?"

"I am," she says, smiling, "My husband is here on business."

The door to the restaurant opens. A familiar voice which Asuka recognizes, her eyes leaving the paper and staring at the door.

"And here he is now."

And Gendo Ikari walks into a bar.

There is no punchline.

* * *

...

* * *

The phone rings. But, it is not her office phone. No, the ringing is coming from one of her desk draws. Which is when she tries to remember the last time someone's called her by her cell phone, and who would it be amongst the precious few she has gifted with her cell phone number?

Sighing, she pulls open the top draw. The phone still rings, but from underneath. Right, she thinks, second draw. Good thing she's never bothered to set up her voice mail, or else she'd never get to her phone in time. Yanking the second draw open, cracking the wood of the draw handle, she withdraws her phone and flips it open.

"Kirishima. What's the dealie-o?"

"_The...dealie-o?"_

The voice on the other line. Soft, moe, creepy. Could only be one person.

"Hey, roomie. Who'd you kill, and how much quicklime do you need?"

"_I have not killed anyone, Kirishima. Or at least, I have never required your help to dispose of bodies."_

"Just fucking with you, Rei," she says, leaning back in her chair, "Where've you been, anyway? I haven't seen you at the apartment for, like, three days. Been off chasing guys?"

"_Yes."_

Mana Kirishima, Lieutenant Colonel in the JSSDF, blinks. That was _not_ the answer she was expecting from her room mate, one Rei Ayanami. Given, Mana's always presumed that Rei has never pursued guys because she desired to slam her half-brother against the walls and make him _feel the G's,_ but that's another matter entirely.

"Okay," she says, running a hand through her short, red hair, "So, what's up? What'd you need?"

"_I need you to listen. I have an idea and I need your input."_

Mana grins, showing white teeth.

"I'm all ears."

* * *

...

* * *

"Oh _boy._ In the last four days, I have been punched _three_ times, twice by Asuka, once by her _dad,_ slapped _three times,_ and _maced._ Remind me again why I do the things my father asks me to, again?"

Sitting in the coffee bar, a good three kilometers from the hotel, the bar itself was the closest place to sit down when they realized that barring Asuka having a car she was not going to have outrun them that fast. So that means they were probably going in the wrong direction. Sitting across from him, her latte still steaming, Hikari shrugs.

"Because you want your father to acknowledge you?"

He glares at her.

"I _think,_" she says, emphasizing the word, fanning the latte as she daintily sips it, "That you need to ask yourself what you _want_ to accomplish. What are you doing in Berlin? You barely speak any german, you aren't sightseeing, and you definitely aren't enjoying yourself. So what is your goal?"

"To get Asuka to work for NERV."

"Except that _isn't_ what your father asked you to do," she says, index finger up, carrying herself less as friend and more daycare teacher, "Your mission, which you accepted, was to _approach_ her to give her the job offer. It said nothing about getting her to accept the job."

He glares at her harder, if possible. But, he realizes, she has a point. She actually does. When he took the job from his father, he did give him a task. And he has completed the task. He offered the job to Asuka and, as predicted, she rejected it. Why wouldn't she? No one had fond memories of NERV during the First Angel War. In fact, most of the people in Tokyo-3 who work at NERV only do so due to how they acted during the _Second,_ where Touji made a name for himself and where his father finally got our of Mom's shadow.

"Your right," he says, "I guess...I guess I'm trying to fix things with Asuka."

Hikari nods.

"I figured as much," she says, "Now, the important question you need to ask is _what_ you want to accomplish with her?"

He sighs, shoulders slumping, visibly deflating into his seat.

"Hell if I know."

* * *

...

* * *

It is a commonly accepted belief that Gendo Ikari does not smile, as if he smiled, you would see the pronounced fangs that would identify him as a vampire. Shortly after that, he would bite you, turning you into a Rei.

Or so the theory goes.

"So," Keiko says, legs crossed, hands folded on one knee, "I understand you two have a history. This is, of course, why I insisted on coming along, because my husband knows better than to be the same sort of...what's the word, dear?"

"Manipulative manchild?" Gendo offers.

"Yes, exactly. I won't allow my husband to be the same sort of manipulative manchild he was years ago. He knows me better than that. He knows what I'll do to him if he does."

He has yet to assume the Pose. His hands are folded on the table in front of him. He is sitting ramrod straight. Still, Asuka can't help but feel the cold knot forming in her stomach, the pit feeling that _no, he's here, it's all going to happen again._

"Doctor Sohryu-" he begins.

"Professor," she responds, _"Professor_ Sohryu. _Doctor_ Sohryu was my _mother._"

Gendo blinks. The crook of his mouth twitches.

"Very well," he says, "Professor Sohryu. Inspector Ikari has made the job offer, and as he reported to us, it was rejected. I felt it was...necessary...to elaborate on the circumstances behind it."

Beneath the table, Asuka's hands clench into fists. She tries not to grind her teeth, toes curling in her shoes. This is exactly what she was trying to avoid. This is the exact worse case scenario she was imagining when Shinji came to Berlin. This is the last thing she wants to-

"_Wark."_

Gendo looks down in his lap, and the warm water penguin now sitting in it. Pen Pen stares at the Commander for a moment, and folds his flippers in front of his beak.

"Hi, Commander," Misato says, "I need to talk to _Professor_ Sohryu for a moment. Mom, could you look after Pen Pen for a few?"

And Misato grabs Asuka by the arm and drags her out of the restaurant.

* * *

...

* * *

Hikari admits that, for a girl who could be such a tightly wound ball of tsundere rage, Asuka has managed to have what is possibly the most adorable daughter _ever._ And as the proud mother of two adorable children, it takes true cuteness for Hikari to bestow that honor upon Ariel Zeppelin Sohryu.

"So," Mari says, sipping her mocha, Ari in the seat next to her with a mug of hot cocoa, "I do have to apologize for how Dad yelled at you. He can be really knee-jerk about us, with emphasis on the _jerk._"

Ari giggles. Hikari bites back a squeal. Shinji just grins. Just as they were getting ready to leave and go back to the hotel, Mari and Ariel showed up, midway through shopping for clothes. Hence, as the coffee was all on Shinji's expense account, they were invited to join.

"But yeah," Mari continues, "You have to remember that Dad wasn't...well, Dad wasn't exactly there for Asuka during much of our lives. When Ska's Mom died, he did take her in, but Asuka more or less had herself adopted by NERV and Mr. Kaji, and didn't spend any time around us, at all. Not even holidays."

"Then came what happened when we were eighteen," Shinji says.

"...and Dad got himself a bright and hard wakeup slap," Mari says, "Dad was absolutely livid. The shouting contest between him and Katsuragi went on for _hours._ So Dad wanted to help Asuka get back on her feet, and, well, then Ari-"

She ruffles her nieces hair. Ari laughs. Hikari feels her heart turn to a liquid state.

"And then Dad became a Grandpa, too!"

Shinji nods, sipping his coffee. There was a day where he didn't want to discuss his father. Now, he never wants to shut up.

"Yeah, my father was the same," he says, "I mean, it's not like he's going to win any Father of the Year awards, but still. He's mellowed out in the last couple of years. I think him getting married helped a lot."

* * *

...

* * *

Gendo Ikari, Commander of NERV, looks down. Pen Pen, Penguin, looks back up.

"_Wark."_

"Indeed. It is going according to the scenario."

"You're doing it again, Gendo."

"Sorry, dear."

* * *

...

* * *

"So. One of the things you need to know is that while Commander Ikari is still, well, a dick, he's no longer as outright evil as he was when you were a kid. He's mellowed out a bit. Still manipulative, but he's not trying to end the world. Anymore."

The bar is down the street from the hotel. The corner booth is in line of sight from the door, but the drink in Misato's hand is tea. She's not sure if she quit drinking or not. If so, good for her. But for right now, that's the last thing on Asuka's mind, as she tries very much not to break the tea mug in her hand from the shaking.

"Asuka," Misato says, "I need you to listen to me."

She looks up from her tea. Her teeth are still clattering. This is the day she's feared ever since she first held her daughter.

"Asuka, it's alright," Misato says, "I know what you're afraid of."

"You _don't,_" Asuka responds, teeth grinding, her eyes staring directly into Misato's own, "I don't know what happened over the past eight years, Misato, but understand _this._ I am _not_ letting them get their claws into me again."

Misato nods. She bites back a reply. In all honesty, that is the problem. They still think of each other as they were those years ago. Still think of themselves as the screamers, the drunkards, the broken.

"I've always known about your history," Misato says, "And I know about...her."

She doesn't say the word 'mother.' She doesn't have to. The shudder, the chill up her spine says it for her.

"You're not her-"

"Ari's the same age I was when she killed herself," Asuka snaps, biting back the anger, "That's my role model, you know? That's who I am afraid of becoming every _single day._ Some day, I'm going to snap just like her, and Ari will find me with a _rope_ around my neck. And she's going to be as fucked up as I am."

Misato reaches out, surrounding Asuka's hands with her own. For Asuka's part, she does not pull away. For Misato's part, she reaches out.

"Stop," she says, softly, "Just...stop. I know you're angry. I know you're scared. And I have fucked up for _twelve_ years trying to deal with it, okay? Just...listen to me, alright?"

She gathers her thoughts, the violet haired woman closing her eyes for a moment. She can feel Misato's hands flexing around her own. Her back is still tense, her shoulders still shaking. But this isn't the Commander she's talking with. It's _Misato._

"Asuka, I swear, on my father's grave I will not hurt your daughter," Misato says, "I'm going to start off with that. I have Ikari by the _balls_ now, understand? Because do not tell anyone about this, but Gendo Rokobungi is the single most whipped man in Tokyo-3, and if he even _one time_ pisses me off, my mother is going to _geld_ him with her bare hands. So if he even thinks of fucking up your girl's life like he and SEELE and Gehirn did yours, he's going to have to get through me, got it?"

Asuka nods. She can feel the tension leaving her shoulders. A swallow, a rare sign of vulnerability, and she sits back in her chair.

"Okay," Misato says, "Well, Shinji is still shit at talking to people, so let me explain exactly _what_ NERV is asking you to do..."

* * *

...

* * *

Hikari has found her room, Mari took Ari back to her grandparents, and so Shinji walks across the lobby of the hotel he is staying at, into the restaurant near the front desk, and uses the only bit of German he has practiced- coffee, black, strong- and sits at a table near the bar. Leaning back, his head rests against the wall, eyes closed and hands folded in his lap as he waits for his coffee.

He hasn't seen Asuka. There was a text message on his cell phone from Misato, telling him to meet her tomorrow morning. And right now he is tired beyond belief, despite it being the early afternoon. All he wants to do is sleep.

And then at the table next to him, the newspaper folds down, and reveals Gendo Ikari.

"Inspector."

And Shinji falls out of his seat screaming.


End file.
